Table 1Transition record

digital forensics experttoethical 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.

From digital forensics expert

50%

Overlap1

To ethical hacker

39 Skills carried over

19 Required, not held

63.8 Difficulty2

adjacent 0–30

moderate 30–55

substantial 55–75

career change 75–100

this move, 63.8

This move: 63.8 of 100 · substantial

1 Share of the ethical hacker role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the digital forensics expert profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 39 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A 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 would need to learn

The 35 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 information and communication technologies (icts) 5 required, 7 supplementary

required, not held ICT system integration required
required, not held ethical hacking principles required
required, not held software anomalies required
required, not held web application security threats required
required, not held 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

required, not held conduct ICT code review required
required, not held develop code exploits required
required, not held execute software tests required
required, not held 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

required, not held execute ICT audits required
required, not held execute social engineering tests required
required, not held implement ICT risk management required
required, not held analyse the context of an organisation required

04 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held address problems critically required
required, not held communicate with stakeholders required
required, not held engage with stakeholders required

optional, not held set up cybersecurity training programmes optional

05 arts and humanities 1 required

required, not held ethics required

06 constructing 1 required

required, not held monitor system performance required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a 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 acquire Tier

07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required

required, not held 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 acquire 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 acquire Tier

required, not held ICT system integration required
required, not held building systems monitoring technology required
required, not held ethical hacking principles required
required, not held software anomalies required
required, not held web application security threats required
required, not held computer programming required
required, not held 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

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.