  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.
