Texas Career Check. Education & Career Planning

Occupation Summary

Digital Forensics Analysts

O*NET 15-1299.06

Description:

Conduct investigations on computer-based crimes establishing documentary or physical evidence, such as digital media and logs associated with cyber intrusion incidents. Analyze digital evidence and investigate computer security incidents to derive information in support of system and network vulnerability mitigation. Preserve and present computer-related evidence in support of criminal, fraud, counterintelligence, or law enforcement investigations.

Annual Wages:
$113,248.00
Employment Rate:
Employment is expected to increase by 28.88%.
Education Level:
Bachelor's Degree. According to O*Net, the majority of people employed in this occupation have this level of education.
Endorsement:
Business and Industry, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)

  1. Adhere to legal policies and procedures related to handling digital media.
  2. Analyze log files or other digital information to identify the perpetrators of network intrusions.
  3. Conduct predictive or reactive analyses on security measures to support cyber security initiatives.
  4. Create system images or capture network settings from information technology environments to preserve as evidence.
  5. Develop plans for investigating alleged computer crimes, violations, or suspicious activity.
  6. Develop policies or requirements for data collection, processing, or reporting.
  7. Duplicate digital evidence to use for data recovery and analysis procedures.
  8. Identify or develop reverse-engineering tools to improve system capabilities or detect vulnerabilities.
  9. Maintain cyber defense software or hardware to support responses to cyber incidents.
  10. Maintain knowledge of laws, regulations, policies or other issuances pertaining to digital forensics or information privacy.
  11. Perform file signature analysis to verify files on storage media or discover potential hidden files.
  12. Perform forensic investigations of operating or file systems.
  13. Perform web service network traffic analysis or waveform analysis to detect anomalies, such as unusual events or trends.
  14. Preserve and maintain digital forensic evidence for analysis.
  15. Recommend cyber defense software or hardware to support responses to cyber incidents.
  16. Recover data or decrypt seized data.
  17. Write and execute scripts to automate tasks, such as parsing large data files.
  18. Write cyber defense recommendations, reports, or white papers using research or experience.
  19. Write reports, sign affidavits, or give depositions for legal proceedings.
  20. Write technical summaries to report findings.


National Industry Employment Patterns


Industry % of Digital Forensics Analysts employed Annual Growth Rate
Computer systems design and related services 18 1.32
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services 5.7 1.04
Employment services 3.2 0.20
Colleges, universities, and professional schools 2.8 0.38
Software publishers 2.7 1.24
Insurance carriers 2.3 0.57
Architectural, engineering, and related services 2 0.54


Labor Market Information


2024 Statewide average hourly wage $54.45
2024 National average hourly wage $56.11
2022 National employment 449,400
2022 Texas employment 53,003
Texas projected employment by 2032 68,310
Texas projected annual employment and Turnover openings through 2032 5,280




TEXAS COUNTY MAP BY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AREA
* Due to confidentiality rules, not all regions may have the data displayed. The sum of all the regions may not be equal to the state total.





Other Activities


No work importance values found.


  • Certified Data Science Practitioner (CDSP)
  • CertNexus
  • Certified Digital Forensics Examiner (C)DFE)
  • Mile2
  • Certified Network Forensics Examiner (C)NFE)
  • Mile2


No tools found.


Technology

Analytical or scientific software: Guidance Software EnCase Enterprise;
Application server software: Kubernetes;
Authentication server software: Single sign-on SSO;
Cloud-based data access and sharing software: Slack; Platform as a service PaaS;
Configuration management software: IBM Terraform;
Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access; Amazon Web Services AWS software; ServiceNow; Structured query language SQL;
Development environment software: Ruby; Microsoft PowerShell; C; Go; Microsoft Azure software;
Enterprise application integration software: Enterprise application integration EAI software; Extensible markup language XML;
Enterprise resource planning ERP software: Management information systems MIS;
Enterprise system management software: Splunk Enterprise;
Expert system software: Ansible software;
Filesystem software: Computer forensic software;
Geographic information system: Geographic information system GIS systems;
Graphical user interface development software: Graphical user interface GUI design software;
Internet directory services software: Microsoft Active Directory; Network directory services software;
Network monitoring software: Snort; Wireshark; IBM QRadar SIEM; Cisco Systems Cisco NetFlow Collection Engine; AccessData FTK;
Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software: Firewall software;
Network security or virtual private network VPN management software: Intrusion detection system IDS;
Object or component oriented development software: C#; C++; Python; R; Oracle Java; Perl;
Office suite software: Google Workspace software; Microsoft Office software;
Operating system software: Linux; Apple iOS; Apple macOS; Bash; Operating system software; Microsoft Windows; Microsoft Windows Server; UNIX;
Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint;
Program testing software: Kali Linux; System testing software; MITRE ATT&CK software;
Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel;
Storage networking software: Amazon Simple Storage Service S3;
Switch or router software: Border Gateway Protocol BGP;
Transaction security and virus protection software: Microsoft Defender Antivirus; Metasploit; OpenVAS; Portswigger BurP Suite; Tenable Nessus;
Transaction server software: Web server software;
Web platform development software: PHP; Security assertion markup language SAML; JavaScript; Hypertext markup language HTML;


Related O*NET occupational titles for Digital Forensics Analysts include:
  • 15-2051.01 Business Intelligence Analysts
  • 15-1231.00 Computer Network Support Specialists
  • 15-1211.00 Computer Systems Analysts
  • 15-1299.03 Document Management Specialists
  • 19-4092.00 Forensic Science Technicians
  • 15-1299.02 Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians
  • 15-1212.00 Information Security Analysts
  • 15-1299.05 Information Security Engineers
  • 15-1299.04 Penetration Testers
  • 13-1161.01 Search Marketing Strategists


No sources of additional information found.
Contact Texas Workforce Commission
Labor Market and Career Information  |  101 E. 15th Street, Annex Room 0252  |  Austin, Texas 78778
Official Website  |  1-800-822-PLAN (7526)  |  512.936.3200

** The information in this report may be derived from many sources like O*NET, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), OOH (Occupational Outlook Handbook), and Career One Stop.