Table of ContentsSummaryLocation within the Department of Homeland SecurityRelationship to the Criminal Justice SystemPosition Details, Duties, Qualification Requirements, and Process selectionJob Details and DutiesQualification RequirementsSelection ProcessConclusionSummaryThis document is an overview of the information Technology Specialist position title within the Department of Homeland Security. It covers the job description and duties to be performed, the necessary education and experience requirements, and the selection process for the position. It also explains why I would be interested in this position and how it relates to the criminal justice system. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay One career in the criminal justice system that I found interesting is that of an information technology specialist working for the Department of Homeland Security. Currently, I have an associate's degree in information security and am working on my bachelor's degree in computer and network security. A career in cybercrime would be ideal once I graduate. However, before making a decision, it is important to research the position itself, the scope of duties, the requirements and the selection process before applying. Location within the Department of Homeland Security It is important to know the place of the information technology specialist. before getting into the details of the job title itself. According to the announcement posted by USAJOBS (2015), the position is with the United States Computer Emergency Preparedness Team, or US-CERT. The job posting continues to list each department that US-CERT is a part of, starting with the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), then the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, the National Directorate of Protection and Programs, finally leading to the Department of Homeland Security. According to the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (2015), “US-CERT develops timely and actionable information for distribution to federal departments and agencies, state and local governments, private sector organizations, and international partners.” (para. 8). Citing the same source, the National Cybersecurity Protection System (NCPS) is also operated by US-CERT and provides intrusion prevention and detection capabilities to certain federal agencies (paragraph 8). Relationship to the criminal justice system After this information contained in the In the previous section alone, it could be inferred that the role of an information technology specialist has a significant impact on the criminal justice system as it relates to cybercrime. This is primarily because the US-CERT team provides information to multiple levels of government on the topic. There is additional evidence that the US-CERT team plays an even more important role than simply disseminating information. According to Bartley (2015), Andy Ozment was the Deputy Secretary of the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications and stated that US-CERT was involved in the investigation into the hack of the Office of Personnel Management. Part of a forensic investigation relating to cybercrime, an Information Technology Specialist at US-CERT undoubtedly has a career with strong ties to the criminal justice system. Job details, duties, qualification requirements and process selectionJob details and dutiesAs described previously in thisarticle, the information technology specialist is a member of the US-CERT team, which deals with cyberattacks and cybercrime. Delving into the details of the job itself, USAJOBS (2015) describes the primary focus of these specific positions as “…[applying] digital forensic and malware analysis to assess, contain, and eradicate malware. » (para. 2). Additionally, assistance on issues related to digital evidence will be provided to other staff ("USAJOBS", 2015). Therefore, the role of the specific job posting I am viewing is focused on software malware and forensics. According to Shanks (2014), “incident response practices can be improved through forensics, memory dump analysis, and malware sandboxing techniques.” (p. 25). Recalling that the US-CERT team provides information to government agencies regarding cyberattacks, this position's role enhances the incident response practice provided by the team. Finally, the USAJOBS offer also indicates that occasional travel of up to 6 to 10 nights per month is required. Given that this position is heavily focused on malware assessment and forensic investigation, it is safe to say that the purpose of the trip is more than likely to acquire forensic images after a cyberattack for analysis later. Qualification Requirements For the purposes of this article, I will limit myself to covering the lowest level requirements for this job. USAJOBS (2015) lists three different job levels available, from GS-11 to GS-13. The Office of Personnel Management states that "the general schedule has 15 grades: GS-1 (lowest) through GS-15 (highest)" and that "agencies establish (classify) the grade of each job according to depending on the level of difficulty. , responsibility and required qualifications. Since I don't have much experience currently, I am only defining the qualifications for a GS-11 Information Technology Specialist. The first qualification that will be discussed is the required prior experience. The job posting states that to be eligible for the position, an applicant must have at least one year of IT experience in a GS-09 level position, or comparable experience in the public or private sector ("USAJOBS", 2015). USAJOBS also requires previous experience to demonstrate 4 core skills: attention to detail, customer service, oral communication, and problem solving. In addition to these skills, USAJOBS (2015) states: …experience should include activities such as: 1) assisting in the collection and evaluation of information related to the security of computer systems; 2) perform forensic analysis of media acquisitions with the aim of identifying malicious activities and documenting analytical results derived from those activities; 3) implement and support applicable forensic applications and tools; and 4) document information security incidents and escalating events, as necessary. (para. 8) Although the prior experience requirements seem very advanced, I believe they are achievable with hard work and commitment. The second potential qualification is education. According to USAJOBS (2015), a completed Ph.D. or A doctorate degree may be used in lieu of one year of GS-09 work experience. This is consistent with another article which also states that the education level for a GS-11 position is that of a doctorate. or doctorate (Crosby, nd). The USAJOBS publication (2015) also lists several other equivalent education substitutions, all of which are nearly equal to the required degree anyway. This.