Institute of Cyber Digital Investigation Professionals (ICDIP)
About The ICDIP
The Institute of Cyber Digital Investigation Professionals (ICDIP) promotes, develops, and represents the professionalism, integrity and excellence of those operating within cyber digital investigations.
ICDIP exists to professionalise Law Enforcement and others who undertake or support cyber digital investigations. Cyber and digital skills are part of modern Law Enforcement and investigation skills, and organisations need to continually develop and invest in their staff to keep them up to date and provide the public with the service they deserve.
Recognition & Networking Hub
ICDIP provides professional recognition and values specialist cyber and digital skills. The accreditation is recognised at court, and membership provides access to a large national network of cyber and digital specialists across Law Enforcement and beyond, with the added bonus of membership of Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec), and access to CIISec’s benefits and wider network.
The accreditation process is an assessment of competency against the skills and standards framework. It requires the candidate to put together a portfolio of evidence which is peer reviewed and at the Senior level they will undertake an interview.
Join us today and become a part of our growing community
I am a Detective Inspector but I had little practitioner knowledge prior to entering the Digital Investigation and Intelligence discipline. I found ICDIP very helpful as a means to test myself, record skills I possessed, and identify gaps where I needed to develop.
- Detective Inspector,
- Full Member of ICDIP
ICDIP Member Benefits
The ICDIP provides a unique competency-based accredited membership that is the first and only one of its kind. The ICDIP assessment of competency values demonstration of skills as part of an investigation as opposed to just knowledge or qualifications.
Providing professional value and recognition of specialist cyber digital skills by demonstrating evidence of competency against skills and standards awarding an industry recognised membership and accreditation that sets them apart as experts in cyber digital investigations.
Leads to increased success at court as evidence becomes accepted due to increased credibility.
Builds and provides access to a national network of cyber digital investigation professionals across Law Enforcement, private industry, academia and business.
A clearly defined development and career pathway resulting in increased employee satisfaction and reducing churn.
Professionalisation of the cyber digital investigation profession. A national body allows for the sharing of information and continuous professional development on a wide scale which in turn develops best practice and provides confidence for stakeholders.
Exclusive ICDIP access to CPD and tradecraft events in the form of masterclasses, and access to free or discounted training events.
Awards membership of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec) and access to all their benefits. This includes access to development programmes, webinars, magazines, cyber security resources and access to 15,000 peers. This also includes the award of industry recognised post-nominals.
Provides the opportunity to assess others, in turn improving the profession. By assessing and interviewing peer applications it raises knowledge and understanding of other areas of cyber digital investigations. Giving back to the community widens an individual’s professional network.
Investment in staff and continuing professional development. Law enforcement need to be continually working out challenges that they face now and in the future. Specialist staff should be at the forefront of knowledge that is continually developing and evolving to provide the best possible service to the public when investigating crimes and incidents.
Individual Accreditation
The process has been designed following extensive consultation with Law Enforcement Agencies and other stakeholders to develop a skills and standards framework that captures the essence of the cyber digital investigation profession’s specialisms. The process involves completing an application form, where the candidate provides evidence against competency-based skills. This is then peer reviewed and on successful assessment/interview will result in accredited membership.
More information on the accreditation process can be found in this short video:
- The accreditation process is an assessment of competency, involving a portfolio of evidence and interview (depending on the level applied for).
- Candidates apply in their chosen job family and level.
- Each application is internally reviewed then passed to an assessor who is a full member of the Institute.
- All applications go through an independent Accreditation Committee to ensure consistency.
There are 3 levels of accredited membership for each job family which align with the competency levels. Funding Packages are in place which offer discounts if an organisation decide to put several candidates through in one financial year.
Below details the length of membership and fees:
Senior Practitioner or Senior Strategist = Full Member
Public Sector – £600 for 3 years Membership
Private Sector- £750 for 3 years Membership
Practitioner or Strategist = Associate Member
Public Sector – £320 for 3 years Membership
Private Sector- £400 for 3 years Membership
Junior Practitioner or Junior Strategist = Affiliate Member
Public Sector – £100 for 1 years Membership
Private Sector- £125 for 1 years Membership
ICDIP have also put in a place a number of funding packages where organisations are able to purchase a number of candidate spaces within a financial year which provides discounts on those and subsequent applications.
Public Sector
Category | Cost in £ | Spaces | Allocation | Discount on remaining candidates |
Platinum | £5,250 | 25 | 6 Full, 8 Associate, 11 Affiliate | 50% |
Gold | £3,000 | 12 | 4 Full, 4 Associate, 4 Affiliate | 50% |
Silver | £2,000 | 8 | 2 Full, 3 Associate, 3 Affiliate | 25% |
Bronze | £1,000 | 5 | 1 Full, 1 Associate, 3 Affiliate | 25% |
Private Sector
Category | Cost in £ | Spaces | Allocation | Discount on remaining candidates |
Diamond | £6,500 | 15 | 7 Full, 8 Associate | 50% |
Emerald | £4,000 | 10 | 5 Full, 5 Associate | 50% |
Sapphire | £2,750 | 6 | 3 Full, 3 Associate | 25% |
Ruby | £1,550 | 3 | 2 Full, 1 Associate | 25% |
- Email us on icdip@ciisec.org find out more
ICDIP host events and masterclasses to develop the profession’s knowledge and understanding of current and future issues affecting cyber and digital investigation. If you have an area of research that you would like to share and would benefit the community, please contact icdip@ciisec.org
CIISec host Career Development days with our Academic partners to highlight routes into the cyber security industry, how to best prepare for life after graduation by landing your first job in cyber security and unrivalled access to leading organisations through networking with our event partners.
Find out more
If you are interested in hosting an event, either with CIISec directly or with your local Community Hub please contact us at development@ciisec.org
The ICDIP Training Accreditation Scheme benchmarks training providers’ courses and enables members to develop skills and progress their careers. They can be confident knowing the courses they are attending meet industry standards. Once it has been established that the provider can deliver training to a high standard then ICDIP will be able to accredit multiple courses more efficiently with a mapping of content to the ICDIP Skills Framework
ICDIP membership levels provide a graduated approach to achieve a recognised ‘professional standard’ in the field of Cyber and Digital Investigations. Accredited Training is an essential component to enable our members, and potential members, to develop their professional capabilities. Having an ICDIP Training Accreditation allows individuals and organisations to easily map your offerings to their development pathways and in turn will encourage them to use you.
- Demonstrates to delegates that courses meet the high accreditation standards set by the ICDIP
- Demonstrates independent assessment and verification of your course
- Provides you with a competitive advantage over non accredited courses
- Improved awareness of your courses to the professional community
- Improved awareness with corporate purchases of training and developers of people
- Greater access to the community to promote offers and thought leadership
- Allows you to use the ICDIP accredited logo on your web site, course and marketing materials
All courses are listed on the ICDIP website and promoted to the professional community. Each accredited course receives a short write up in our Pulse Magazine and you will have the opportunity to offer ICDIP and CIISec members offers and discounts.
There are three elements to the accreditation process:
- Assessing the training providers’ processes for administering and delivering the course. This involves looking at the internal process for managing changes to the course; quality control of the course including negative feedback; production of any certification/qualifications.
- Assessing the trainers. Reviewing the CV and bios of lead trainer(s). Identifying training qualifications and subject matter expertise for the course being accredited.
Evaluating the content against the ICDIP Skills Framework (slides, course and tutor notes, exercises, mock examinations/tests and other handouts)
The independent subject matter expert will then make their recommendation to the Training Accreditation Committee (TAC). Accreditation is awarded when all elements of the process have met the standard and have been ratified by the TAC.
Parts I and II will only need to be assessed once. Part III will need to be undertaken for each separate course.
NB: If a course contains practical elements, then an assessor may need to attend your organisation to make the assessment, this may incur additional charges. Online courses will require access.
For more information on the process for Accreditation and Fees please contact icdip@ciisec.org
By attending a course that has been accredited by ICDIP, it can help fill gaps in your knowledge and facilitate your progression to the next level of the ICDIP pathway in your chosen job family. Members can enrol on a course knowing it meets the industry standard and has been measured against the ICDIP skills framework. Members can also benefit from savings offered by training providers.
CIISec have been collaborating with leading universities in the field of information and cyber security, for several years. ICDIP have now mirrored that process to promote the growth of the profession and to provide career paths for those individuals who are the future of the cyber and digital investigations.
Our Academic Partnership provides an opportunity for ICDIP and academic institutions to collaborate and ensure the effective promotion of cyber and digital investigation professionalism to staff and students. The award of Academic Partner status aims to recognise the significant base of cyber and/or digital investigation related expertise and activity that exists within academic institutions and to encourage and enable a dialogue between academia, law enforcement and the wider community.
Being an Academic Partner of CIISec shows the rest of the industry that their courses have achieved a course accreditation that meets the industry’s high standard. Universities are encouraged to engage with CIISec’s Community Hubs on events and thought leadership pieces.
- Listing of partner details, logo and the course details on the ICDIP/CIISec website
- The opportunity to use the Partner status (including the ICDIP and CIISec name and logo) when promoting the Partner’s Cyber and Digital Investigation related activity
- The opportunity to award an annual ICDIP Student of the Year Prize to a student of your choice-who will then go on to be nominated in the CIISec National Fred Piper Award
- The opportunity to contribute to the ‘academic voice’ within ICDIP and CIISec by submitting articles for our quarterly Pulse magazine
- Chance to provide features for our monthly Student Newsletter highlighting academic news and succesAccess to an optional student membership programme, enabling a cohort of named students to be registered as ICDIP & CIISec student members for a single annual fee of £250
- Access to ICDIP speakers at your events
- Create connections with your local CIISec Community Hub Leader and the wider Cyber and Digital Investigation and Security community
- Discount on ICDIP individual membership for academics based at the partner institution
Each Academic year our Academic partners are offered access to an optional student membership programme. This enables the organisation to register a cohort of named students, on cyber security related courses, to be registered as ICDIP student members for a single annual fee of £250. This helps encourage your students to become members without having to pay a £20 individual student membership fee.
If you represent an Academic partner and would like to take up one of these offers or if you’re a student that would like to check whether your university has taken up the offer, please contact icdip@ciisec.org
- Make contacts and develop your network within the Cyber Security community
- Event Assistance – annual conference (CIISec Live), Community Hub events, Career Development Events
- Student Champion
- Author or contribute articles for CIISec Pulse Magazine – Publish your final year research
- Chance to become a CIISec Student of the year; each year our Academic Partners award this prize to a student of their choice. This student then goes on to be nominated into CIISec’s National Fred Piper Award.
- Receive our monthly student newsletter
- Opportunity to apply for Affiliate or Accredited status (if eligibility criteria is met), after graduating your course.
If you represent an Academic partner and would like to take up one of these offers or if you’re a student that would like to check whether your university has taken up the offer, please contact icdip@ciisec.org
ICDIP host events and masterclasses to develop the profession’s knowledge and understanding of current and future issues affecting cyber and digital investigation. If you have an area of research that you would like to share and would benefit the community, please contact icdip@ciisec.org.
CIISec host Career Development days with our Academic partners to highlight routes into the cyber security industry, how to best prepare for life after graduation by landing your first job in cyber security and unrivalled access to leading organisations through networking with our event partners.
If you are interested in hosting an event, either with CIISec directly or with your local Community Hub please contact us at development@ciisec.org
The ICDIP Academic Partnership offering forms part of the wider CIISec Academic Offering aimed at those involved in cyber security.
ICDIP welcomes applications from universities and educational institutes that wish to join. If you would like an application form or more information for Academic Partnerships, please contact icdip@ciisec.org
Organisations seeking Academic partnership are required to fill out the application form to show their involvement in cyber and/or digital investigation related activity and to submit CVs of at least three staff members in this field.