Apprenticeship training course

Advanced digital forensic professional (level 7)

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Information about Advanced digital forensic professional (level 7)

Undertake and innovate the capture, processing, and analysis of specialist digital forensic evidence.

• Knowledge, skills and behaviours:
  View knowledge, skills and behaviours

  Knowledge

  • Interpretation, implication and application of legislation and guidance for the examination of digital devices and material for use in investigations.
  • How to conduct investigations and leverage intelligence in order to identify and safeguard victims and vulnerable persons.
  • Ethical handling and management of evidential material and its sources to ensure privacy.
  • Techniques for identifying and managing well-being within a digital forensic team and the strategies to address trauma and how to access support due to the impact that processing sensitive or potentially distressing content can have on an individual.
  • Processes for accrediting and embedding novel techniques in the laboratory, from proof of concept to approved techniques, associated risks and the impact of Quality Standard Requirements and Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) Codes of Practice (including information security, assurance, and business continuity).
  • Scientific requirements needed to establish a technical standard for a new forensic science activity, including validation of methods and tools, practitioner competency, and training.
  • Scope of techniques within digital forensics regarding the acquisition, preservation, handling, processing and analysis of digital intelligence.
  • What a digital forensic strategy entails, and how this supports the investigation whilst mitigating the risks presented.
  • Mentoring and how to support the professional development of others.
  • Techniques to co-ordinate the allocation, delivery, and priority of team workload to advance and support investigation in line with organisational priorities.
  • Horizon scanning, technological advances, and their value to inform strategies for triage and frontline and investigative capability.
  • Core network design and storage technologies across multiple devices and common architectures.
  • Specialist video multimedia, recovery, processing and analysis to enhance digital forensics compliance.
  • Common data features across specialist forensics capabilities, including forensic linguistics, and image authenticity relevant to evidence handling and interpretation of digital forensic material.
  • Opportunities for complementary evidence, for example open source, cell site, communications intelligence, text encoding initiative and vehicles.
  • The function of, and forensic opportunities presented by, common block device file systems, for example New Technology File System (NTFS), File Allocation Table (FAT), Extended File System (ext), Hierarchical File System Plus (HFS+), Apple File System (APFS) and partitioning technologies.
  • Common data structures for storage of text and media, for example text, XML, JSON, image, and video formats.
  • Data and database-type structures for storage of system and application data, for example system logs, Windows Registry, system configuration, (b)plists, SQLite, RealmDB, ProtoBuffers.
  • The complexities of technical and dynamic risks identified through the investigative process, for example data vulnerabilities.
  • Encryption technologies and security methods employed by device manufacturers and their impact on forensic activity and circumventions.
  • Artefact types across digital forensic disciplines, and how they can be exploited in investigations.
  • Handling treatment opportunities and challenges of various storage media, including magnetic, optical, and flash memory.
  • Applications and uses of artificial intelligence to identify and generate evidential material.
  • Fault-finding and diagnostic techniques and equipment, including use of voltmeters, thermal imagers and continuity checkers for non-functional electronic devices.
  • How to capture evidence compromised by environmental conditions.
  • The importance of independent, impartial decision-making that respects the opinions and views of others in complex, unpredictable and changing circumstances.
  • Tactical solutions and interpretation of local network architecture to inform plans for examining digital evidence.
  • Script programs to extract and report data not processed by extraction tool capability, including writing structured query language (SQL) and scripts for interpretation of data, for example Python.
  • Decomplication, reverse-engineering, static and dynamic analysis approaches, including application virtualisation.
  • Requirements for providing unbiased interpretive evidence, understanding of the limitations of results, including unconscious bias and performance of tools.
  • E-Discovery strategy for large and complex cases.
  • Conducting literature reviews.
  • Research methods and statistical analysis, including data science and Artificial Intelligence.
  • Statistical methods and data interpretation.
  • How to draw meaningful conclusions and the communication of research findings.
  • How to effectively collaborate with partners and across disciplines to advance national digital forensics and evaluate emerging technology.
  • How their role contributes to sustainability goals.
  • Principles and policies of equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and their impact on the organisation.
  • Techniques to identify evidential anomalies associated with manipulated or faked material.
  • Emerging trends and technological threats that could disrupt and influence the credibility of forensic evidence.

  Skills

  • Apply legislation and guidance for the capture and examination of digital data to casework and decision-making.
  • Conduct investigations and manage evidence ethically to ensure safeguarding of victims and vulnerable persons, including providing support in the technical working environment when dealing with digital devices and data that may contain personal, sensitive or potentially distressing information.
  • Undertake work to support the accreditation of novel techniques, from proof of concept through to embedding approved techniques within the laboratory.
  • Develop legal and ethical digital forensic strategies and communicate with a range of stakeholders to implement these to proactively support serious and complex investigations.
  • Mentoring skills to support the performance of the digital forensics team. Providing advice and guidance with particular emphasis on embedding specialist techniques.
  • Co-ordinate the allocation, delivery, and priority of team workload to advance and support investigation.
  • Lead the advanced application of specialist principles for digital forensic science, ensuring the use of cutting-edge technical evidence for the investigative process.
  • Process, analyse and interpret complex digital data for the purposes of establishing forensic evidence for investigations.
  • Interrogate the components and artefacts of complex digital material in a forensic manner to find evidence relevant to investigations.
  • Physically examine damaged or broken devices and remove data, utilising specialist tools and techniques, for example Chip-off and Joint Test Action Group (JTAG).
  • Solve complex problems and technically challenge the constraints of digital forensic methodologies.
  • Communicate, negotiate, and influence on various skill and sensitivity levels to support all parts of the investigative process, including addressing highly technical concepts in an accessible format.
  • Provide trusted digital forensic evidence for the investigative process, producing comprehensive reports, technical explanations, and statements in accordance with rules of evidence. Distinguishing between factual and interpretive expert reporting.
  • Conduct literature reviews and select appropriate research methodologies to address research gaps in digital forensics.
  • Research data collection, analyse information to draw meaningful conclusions, and communicate the research findings.
  • Collaborate with partners across disciplines to advance national digital forensics and evaluate emerging technology.
  • Follow and apply sustainability, equity, diversity and inclusion policies and procedures.
  • Use specialist multi-capability techniques to forensically identify and examine the authenticity of evidential material.
  • Apply knowledge of new technological risks and threats to influence change to the digital forensic examination process.

  Behaviours

  • A strong work ethic and commitment in order to meet the standards required.
  • Acts with integrity with respect to ethical, legal and regulation ensuring the protection of personal data, safety and security.
  • Shows initiative and personal responsibility to overcome digital forensic challenges.
  • Commitment to continuous professional development; maintaining knowledge and skills in digital forensic developments that influence their work.
  • Comfortable and confident interacting with people from technical and non-technical backgrounds.
  • Participates and shares best practice in their organisation and the wider community of Digital Forensics.
  • Maintains awareness of trends and innovations utilising a range of academic literature, online sources, community interaction, conference attendance and other methods that can deliver business value.
  • Leads by example, acting as a role model for equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Apprenticeship category (sector): Digital
• Qualification level: 7; Equal to master’s degree
• Course duration: 36 months
• Maximum funding: £27,000 ; Maximum government funding for ; apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
• Job titles include:
  • Digital forensic specialist
  • Senior digital forensic investigator
  • Senior digital forensic practitioner

View more information about Advanced digital forensic professional (level 7) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.