Career in Digital Forensics

 Average Computer Forensics Analyst Salary

Forensic computer analysts assist with forensic investigations by retrieving and analyzing data and other evidence from computers, networks and data storage devices. These individuals process large amounts of data to find specific items on behalf of their organization. Tasks performed by forensic computer analysts may include handling computer hard drives and storage devices to analyze user patterns, using different computer programs to recover information from destroyed media devices, and preparing detailed reports after running computer analysis software applications, among others. Forensic computer analysts are also responsible for following all safety and privacy procedures when handling sensitive financial or personal information such as documents, videos, or pictures. As cyber criminals are rapidly growing and targeting our information systems and try to breach our privacy for financial gain or any other personal or hatred interest, the field of computer forensics is in great demand. Organizations are looking forward to computer forensics for their incident response team. Computer forensics is a complete computer examination with analysis as the ultimate goal. This means it not only fulfill the demand of file recovery option, but also working on how to find the artifacts, and evaluating the value of information. The unique and sensitive nature of work performed by cyber forensics expert made their job highly demanding must for many organizations that are dealing with user’s confidential or personal information. With endless possibilities of this field, the job market is also continually growing. The Global Digital Forensics Market is estimated to reach $7 billion by 2024. On average, forensic computer analysts earn $68,967 per year. Depending on location and level of experience, salaries can range from $43,268 to $114,239. In the field of computer forensics, the employee at the entry level position with less than 5 years of experience can expect to earn an average total compensation of $58,000. While an employee at a mid-level position with few years of experience can expect to earn an average of total $89,000 and an employee at the top level position with 10 to 20 years of experience can expect to earn an average total compensation of $99,000.
The other considerations that boost up computer forensics expert’s salaries are the skill factors. It depends on the skill set and specialization that how much salary your organization will offer. For the domain of high interest, for which global community is working the most and is the hottest technology, you will be paid relatively higher than any other sub-domain in the field.Computer forensics is one of the fastest growing fields in the tech industry. It is predicted that overall, the growth of computer forensics industry will explode According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the security analyst field (including forensic computer analysts) is expected to grow by 18% before 2024. As cyber crimes continue to increase in size and scope, forensic computer analysts will continue to play a critical role in helping organizations identify how breaches occur, where they originate and how to prevent them from occurring again.

Digital Forensics

Digital forensics is a branch of forensic science encompassing the recovery and investigation of material found in digital devices, often in relation to computer crime. The goal of the process is to preserve any evidence in its most original form while performing a structured investigation by collecting, identifying and validating the digital information for the purpose of reconstructing past events. Prior to the 1980s, crimes involving computers were dealt with using existing laws.
The first computer crimes were recognized in the 1978 Florida Computer Crimes Act, which included legislation against the unauthorized modification or deletion of data on a computer system. Over the next few years the range of computer crimes being committed increased, and laws were passed to deal with issues of copyright, privacy.
Canada was the first country to incorporate computer offenses. This was followed by the US Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 1986, Australian amendments to their crimes acts in 1989 and the British Computer Misuse Act in 1990.
Using the term “forensics” certainly implies that digital forensics is used to recover digital evidence to be used in court of law against some nefarious offender. This is true in many instances. Perhaps a disgruntled employee stole valuable data after getting fired or maybe a company fell victim to corporate espionage. These criminal cases definitely rely on digital forensics to provide evidence pertaining to such crimes.
Digital forensics isn’t just limited to the court of law. Often times, a company may be handling some sort of internal affair like a violation of a corporate policy, which doesn’t necessarily fall under the “crime” category. In the same way, however, digital forensics is used to find evidence that either backs or disproves some sort of assumption. A digital forensic investigation commonly consists of 3 stages: acquisition or imaging of exhibits, a*analysis, and reporting. Ideally acquisition involves capturing an image of the computer's volatile memory (RAM) and creating an exact sector level duplicate of the media. During the analysis phase an investigator recovers evidence material using a number of different methodologies and tools. The actual process of analysis can vary between investigations, but common methodologies include conducting keyword searches across the digital media recovering deleted files and extraction of registry information. The evidence recovered is analysed to reconstruct events or actions and to reach conclusions. When an investigation is complete the data is presented, usually in the form of a written report.
The only thing that does matter is preventing facts clearly and concisely. That’s the end goal of digital forensics. The law enforcement community uses forensic software and hardware to collect, triage, investigate, and report on evidence from devices and networks. Digital forensics is commonly used in both criminal law and private investigation. Traditionally it has been associated with criminal law, where evidence is collected to support or oppose a hypothesis before the courts. Digital forensics helps investigators find evidence directly related to a criminal investigation. It also helps confirm statements, authenticate documents, create timelines, etc. As the number of digital devices and services explodes, so do the digital footprints we all leave behind. Forensic tools allow investigators to examine and understand these digital footprints as they try to prove the facts of the case.