Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Digital forensics expert to ethical hacker

A digital forensics expert already meets 50% of what the ethical hacker role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From digital forensics expert
50 % overlap
Partial match
To ethical hacker
39 You already bring
19 Still to learn
74 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

63.8/ 100

1 How much of what an ethical hacker is expected to do is already part of a digital forensics expert’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the ethical hacker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An ethical hacker role treats 17 of its required skills as things a digital forensics expert already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • ICT infrastructure
  • ICT network security risks
  • ICT security standards
  • attack vectors
  • computer forensics
  • cyber attack counter-measures

What stands in the way is 19 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 39 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An ethical hacker role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a digital forensics expert background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held Aircrack (penetration testing tool) information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Backbox (penetration testing tool) information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held BlackArch information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Cain and Abel (penetration testing tool) information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held John The Ripper (penetration testing tool) information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Kali Linux information and communication technologies (icts)

All 39 carried skills, including the 17 the ethical hacker role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 35 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information and communication technologies (icts) 5 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn ICT system integration required
  • still to learn ethical hacking principles required
  • still to learn software anomalies required
  • still to learn web application security threats required
  • still to learn computer programming required
  • optional, not held Internet of Things optional
  • optional, not held Open source model optional
  • optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
  • optional, not held hybrid model optional
  • optional, not held internet governance optional
  • optional, not held proxy servers optional
  • optional, not held service-oriented modelling optional
02 working with computers 4 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn conduct ICT code review required
  • still to learn develop code exploits required
  • still to learn execute software tests required
  • still to learn manage system security required
  • optional, not held ICT safety optional
  • optional, not held implement a firewall optional
  • optional, not held maintain ICT server optional
  • optional, not held remove computer virus or malware from a computer optional
  • optional, not held solve ICT system problems optional
03 information skills 4 required
  • still to learn execute ICT audits required
  • still to learn execute social engineering tests required
  • still to learn implement ICT risk management required
  • still to learn analyse the context of an organisation required
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn address problems critically required
  • still to learn communicate with stakeholders required
  • still to learn engage with stakeholders required
  • optional, not held set up cybersecurity training programmes optional
05 arts and humanities 1 required
  • still to learn ethics required
06 constructing 1 required
  • still to learn monitor system performance required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an ethical hacker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 39 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ICT infrastructure knowledge
  • already held ICT network security risks knowledge
  • already held ICT security standards knowledge
  • already held attack vectors knowledge
  • already held computer forensics knowledge
  • already held cyber attack counter-measures knowledge
  • already held cyber security knowledge
  • already held identify ICT security risks skill
  • already held identify ICT system weaknesses skill
  • already held information security strategy knowledge
  • already held legal requirements of ICT products knowledge
  • already held operating systems knowledge
  • already held penetration testing tool knowledge
  • already held perform ICT security testing skill
  • already held security engineering knowledge
  • already held tools for ICT test automation knowledge
  • already held use scripting programming skill
  • already held Aircrack (penetration testing tool) knowledge
  • already held Backbox (penetration testing tool) knowledge
  • already held BlackArch knowledge
  • already held Cain and Abel (penetration testing tool) knowledge
  • already held ICT encryption knowledge
  • already held ICT security legislation knowledge
  • already held John The Ripper (penetration testing tool) knowledge
  • already held Kali Linux knowledge
  • already held Maltego knowledge
  • already held Metasploit knowledge
  • already held Nessus knowledge
  • already held Nexpose knowledge
  • already held OWASP ZAP knowledge
  • already held Parrot Security OS knowledge
  • already held Samurai Web Testing Framework knowledge
  • already held WhiteHat Sentinel knowledge
  • already held Wireshark knowledge
  • already held implement ICT security policies skill
  • already held information confidentiality knowledge
  • already held levels of software testing knowledge
  • already held manage IT security compliances skill
  • already held manage cloud data and storage skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required
  • still to learn building systems monitoring technology required
08 management skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held define security policies optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
09 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held organisational resilience optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held ICT safety optional
  • optional, not held Internet of Things optional
  • optional, not held Open source model optional
  • optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
  • optional, not held define security policies optional
  • optional, not held hybrid model optional
  • optional, not held implement a firewall optional
  • optional, not held internet governance optional
  • optional, not held maintain ICT server optional
  • optional, not held organisational resilience optional
  • optional, not held proxy servers optional
  • optional, not held service-oriented modelling optional
  • optional, not held set up cybersecurity training programmes optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
  • optional, not held remove computer virus or malware from a computer optional
  • optional, not held solve ICT system problems optional
38 held skills the ethical hacker role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role GDPR knowledge
  • not needed by the target role LDAP knowledge
  • not needed by the target role LINQ knowledge
  • not needed by the target role MDX knowledge
  • not needed by the target role N1QL knowledge
  • not needed by the target role SPARQL knowledge
  • not needed by the target role THC Hydra knowledge
  • not needed by the target role XQuery knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analyse network configuration and performance skill
  • not needed by the target role apply reverse engineering skill
  • not needed by the target role audit techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role check methods knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cloud technologies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collect cyber defence data skill
  • not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
  • not needed by the target role design computer network skill
  • not needed by the target role develop information security strategy skill
  • not needed by the target role digital data processing skill
  • not needed by the target role educate on data confidentiality skill
  • not needed by the target role establish an ICT security prevention plan skill
  • not needed by the target role forensic intelligence knowledge
  • not needed by the target role gather data for forensic purposes skill
  • not needed by the target role hardware architectures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role hardware platforms knowledge
  • not needed by the target role implement ICT network diagnostic tools skill
  • not needed by the target role information architecture knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage data for legal matters skill
  • not needed by the target role perform data mining skill
  • not needed by the target role perform forensic preservations of digital devices skill
  • not needed by the target role present evidence skill
  • not needed by the target role provide ICT consulting advice skill
  • not needed by the target role query languages knowledge
  • not needed by the target role resource description framework query language knowledge
  • not needed by the target role secure sensitive customer's information skill
  • not needed by the target role security threats knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
  • not needed by the target role use software for data preservation skill
  • not needed by the target role use technology for forensics skill
15 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn ICT system integration required
  • still to learn building systems monitoring technology required
  • still to learn ethical hacking principles required
  • still to learn software anomalies required
  • still to learn web application security threats required
  • still to learn computer programming required
  • still to learn ethics required
  • optional, not held Internet of Things optional
  • optional, not held Open source model optional
  • optional, not held Outsourcing model optional
  • optional, not held hybrid model optional
  • optional, not held internet governance optional
  • optional, not held organisational resilience optional
  • optional, not held proxy servers optional
  • optional, not held service-oriented modelling optional
Index

Other moves recorded from digital forensics expert

Full index of moves from digital forensics expert

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a digital forensics expert become an ethical hacker?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A digital forensics expert already covers 50% of what an ethical hacker is expected to do: 39 skills carry over, 17 of which the ethical hacker role treats as required.

What skills does a digital forensics expert need to become an ethical hacker?

19 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is ICT system integration.

How hard is the move from digital forensics expert to ethical hacker?

Its learning distance is 63.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.