The Get Your Start in DFIR Scholarship Site Just Launched!

Last year I announced that I had two more websites planned after creating the Free Training and Affordable Training sites. The first one, Get Your Start Careers, a US & Canada job board for entry level jobs in DFIR, Cybersecurity, Intelligence and Tech launched in May. I also planned on creating a scholarship site to help others get into the field because I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the training and certification scholarships I received in the past. I experimented with different funding options but none of them worked out. Then Josh Mason, who started Cyber Supply Drop mentioned Hack Club Bank and it all came together. I changed the idea a bit from what I originally planned, but it’s finally here!

Get Your Start in DFIR is a non-profit providing training, certification, and books to individuals with limited financial resources wanting to enter the Digital Forensics & Incident Response field. Funding relies entirely on donations. All monetary donations are tax-deductible. The goal with this fund is to assist individuals who have limited financial resources with training, certification and books related to Digital Forensics & Incident Response as well as help to increase diversity within the DFIR field.

“Having people of different races, ethnicities, genders, socioeconomic status, and backgrounds within a workplace can drive innovation, problem-solving, and competitiveness. Research has shown that diverse teams perform better, are more creative, and outperform homogeneous teams.”

The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in the Forensic Sciences

How it Works

When enough funding is received (the goal is $2,500), scholarship applications will open for two weeks. Prerequisites are knowledge of general IT, cybersecurity, and networking (for free training, see Part 1 – Core of the Incident Response Training Plan).

The training, certification, and books each recipient receives is based on their existing knowledge and their area of interest within the Digital Forensics & Incident Response field.

Scholarship recipients will have profiles on Get Your Start in DFIR that will stay updated with their progress until they are hired into a DFIR role. These profiles will also be shared on social media to introduce scholarship recipients to the DFIR community and let potential employers know they’re interested in entering the field.

This will repeat each time enough funding is received.

All Get Your Start in DFIR finances are transparent. Anyone can see what goes in and out of the scholarship fund here: https://bank.hackclub.com/get-your-start-in-dfir

If you want to contribute to the scholarship fund, the donation page is here: https://bank.hackclub.com/donations/start/get-your-start-in-dfir

What is Included in the Scholarship?

Each recipient will receive training and a practical/hands-on certification + a book bundle of up to 4 books. I’m in the process of confirming more training and certification options that can be purchased for scholarship recipients with the Get Your Start in DFIR fund when enough donations have been received. I have taken (or am in the process of taking) the training listed and personally vouch for it.

Confirmed Training & Certification Options

Get Your Start Book Bundle (Examples)

  • Incident Response & Computer Forensics
  • Applied Incident Response
  • Investigating Windows Systems
  • Practical Malware Analysis
  • Practical Packet Analysis
  • The Art of Memory Forensics
  • Windows Internals
  • Mobile Forensics Investigations

How the DFIR Community Can Help

If anyone in the DFIR community is interested in volunteering to provide mentorship to scholarship recipients, helping select scholarship recipients, or looking over the application form and giving suggestions (the form is still in the works), feel free to contact me on social media.

How Training Providers Can Help

If you offer paid training related to Digital Forensics, Incident Response, or Malware Analysis and are able to offer free or discounted training to scholarship recipients, please fill out the Training Partner Form.

Thank you to Cyber 5W for becoming our first training partner!

Free Get Your Start in DFIR Job Board

There is also a free job board on the Get Your Start in DFIR site where employers and recruiters around the world can post DFIR jobs and internships requiring no prior work experience in Digital Forensics or Incident Response. No registration is required to post jobs. The “Apply” button can either link directly to your job application page, or you can add your email for applicants to send their resumes directly to you.