Duties

There are a variety of Digital Forensics opportunities across the Department, including supporting several specialized programs at the DHS Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (PLCY), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Depending on your career level and role, DHS Cybersecurity Service employees in the Technical Career Track, with a technical capability in Digital Forensics, will generally apply their expertise to perform a range of tasks, including:

• Applying techniques for gathering, recovering, analyzing, interpreting and presenting digital information and evidence from sources such as computers, mobile devices, websites, network packets, etc. to support DHS and Component investigative activities.

• Using forensic artifacts, data, and reports to understand and/or reconstruct a digital process, event, or activities, and assisting others who are less seasoned in these areas.

• Applying various techniques and tools (e.g., hexadecimal dumper, disassembler, debugger) to analyze software/hardware, retrieve its source code, and understand its component parts, functions, and purpose to identify the software's underlying vulnerabilities and exploitable weaknesses.

• Preserving digital media (e.g., hard drives, CDs, mobile phones, GPS, etc.) for examination and analysis to see the intrusion as the user may have seen it, avoiding unintentional alteration to the native environment.

• Conducting analysis of log files, evidence, and other information using network monitoring tools to capture and analyze data and network traffic associated with malicious activities and determine best methods to identify network perpetrators.

• Collecting and analyzing intrusion artifacts (e.g., source code, malware, and system configuration) to identify the TTPs (tactics, techniques and procedures) of an adversary and use discovered data to enable mitigation of potential cyber events.

• Communicating incident findings from a forensic investigation to appropriate stakeholders outlining recommendations to prevent and mitigate future risks and threats using cyber defense techniques.

• Providing key technical input to assist organizational leaders with decision-making and actions related to a variety of critical cybersecurity threats and/or incidents and providing strategic-level analysis to support broader DHS cyber missions.

• Providing technical and non-technical assistance to investigative personnel on digital evidence matters using a full range of investigative tools and processes in accordance with applicable laws, policies, guidelines regulations and procedures.

• Examining recovered data and applying knowledge of malicious software programs and code that interferes with normal computer functions to perform malware analysis.

• Advising Federal and National DHS stakeholder organizations on handing highly complex cybersecurity investigations and influencing policy decision making on a range of technical topics within and outside DHS.

• Leveraging collaborative networks of internal and/or external DHS partners and/or national technical experts to facilitate achievement of strategically important DHS and national cybersecurity goals.