A Reverse Engineering Education Needs Analysis Survey

TL;DR

This survey investigates the current state of reverse engineering education, highlighting a perceived shortage of resources and graduates with adequate RE knowledge, and analyzes industry tools and teaching methods.

Contribution

The paper provides empirical data on RE education needs, resource gaps, and industry tool usage based on a survey of cybersecurity professionals.

Findings

Majority agree there is a shortage of RE resources

Many respondents believe graduates lack sufficient RE knowledge

Significant industry reliance on specific RE tools

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a needs analysis survey for Reverse Engineering (RE). The need for reverse engineers in digital forensics, continues to grow as malware analysis becomes more complicated. The survey was created to investigate tools used in the cybersecurity industry, the methods for teaching RE and educational resources related to RE. Ninety-three (n=93) people responded to our 58 question survey. Participants did not respond to all survey questions as they were optional. The data showed that the majority of 24/71 (33.8%) responses either strongly agreed and 22/71 (30.99%) of responses somewhat agreed that there is a shortage in RE resources. Furthermore, a majority of 17/72 (23.61%) responses indicated that they strongly disagree and that 27/72 (37.5%) somewhat disagree to the statement that graduates are leaving college with adequate RE knowledge. When asked if there is a shortage of adequate RE candidates, the majority of 33/71 (46.48%) responses strongly agreed and 20/71 (28.17%) somewhat agreed. In order to determine if this was a result of the tools at their disposal, a series of questions in regards to the two most popular RE tools were also asked.