FBI Jobs: Working in the Cyber Crimes Division
Many people dream of working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, most don’t know about the new cyber crimes division, which provides an exciting new opportunity to learn all about computer forensics. Here’s what you need to know about FBI jobs.
Computer Forensics Examiner
Some of the best and brightest individuals in the U.S. work for the FBI, and the Computer Forensics Examiner position is near the top of all positions one could hold with the agency’s cyber crimes division. The top priority of this division is to safeguard the classified information on U.S. servers or on private facilities or public networks.
The information and technology for this position is evolving at a rapid pace, due to the threat these systems experience from both local and foreign hackers.
A computer forensic examiner’s job is not unlike the job these digital forensics experts do – they use special software and hardware to recover information stored on computers, cellphones, and other external drives, even after said information has been damaged or deleted.
Advanced recovery methods are employed to catch criminals and terrorists so that they can be apprehended for their crimes. An examiner may use any number of data recovery tools to uncover evidence of financial crimes, child exploitation, digital theft or unauthorized intrusions, or crimes taking place over telecommunications lines or networks.
During the course of a year, all 16 labs will perform roughly 4,500 examinations and 600 on-site analyses. Data analysis can be performed on, and often includes the maintenance and awareness of new technologies and storage techniques. Examiners are often expected to recover data from damages or erased media, including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, zip drives, and other external hard drives or flash drives.
Cyber Action Team
The Cyber Action Team sounds like some kind of T.V. show, but it’s a division within the cyber crime division that focuses on keeping the country’s information systems safe. Personnel are deployed around the world to remote locations to monitor U.S. systems and may need to apprehend criminals attempting to compromise those systems.
Called “Counterterrorism Fly Teams,” these units can be deployed in a matter of hours and are sometimes put in dangerous situations – great for the tactical-minded individual who likes “mission impossible”-style deployments.
The main focus of the Cyber Action Team is to investigate potential compromises of U.S. information systems, examine the crime scene, and maintain awareness of potential cyber attacks and the technology used for those attacks. Also, traveling is an important part of the job, so be prepared for it.
Computer Scientist
Computer scientists are classic forensics specialists with an emphasis on computer forensic technologies. They have working knowledge of forensics, security, computer programming, network architecture, systems administration, internetworking, and other related technologies and systems.
A computer scientist assists other divisions in the cyber crimes division, but is also its own unit committed to monitoring all of the advancements in cyber crime technologies so that they do not present a threat to national security.
Jared Stern is certified in digital forensic examination, and he is a federal and state court-admitted computer and an expert in cell phone forensics. Mr. Stern is also the President of Prudential Associates, an investigative agency that uses a powerfully-equipped forensics lab which surpasses the capability and capacity of more than 90 percent of law enforcement labs in the U.S. His articles are available on a variety of industry and criminal science education websites.
