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Introduction to Computer Forensics


Course Description

The principles and practice of computer forensics. Topics include computer crime, software vulnerabilities, intellectual property, privacy issues, countermeasures, methods and standards for extraction, preservation, and deposition of legal evidence in a court of law.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Each written assignment and programming project in this course will have additional questions for graduate students. These questions will require that graduate students read and understand research papers, write answers that will call upon the student to critique existing methods and propose improvements, or use research in implementing new solutions. Exams will have additional essay-type questions that will require the graduate student to find limitations of existing techniques and propose new approaches. All graduate students will be evaluated in a pool that is separate from undergraduate students in the course, and the grade cutoffs will be stricter, thereby implying higher expectations of accomplishment from graduate students.


Athena Title

Intro to Computer Forensics


Undergraduate Prerequisite

CSCI 4730/6730 or CSCI 4250/6250


Graduate Prerequisite

CSCI 4730/6730 or CSCI 4250/6250


Semester Course Offered

Not offered on a regular basis.


Grading System

A - F (Traditional)


Course Objectives

Students will learn a systematic approach to perform a comprehensive investigation to solve computer crimes. This course provides hands-on experience in different computer forensics situations. Students will be able to effectively collect and analyze software, OS, and network activities in desktop, server, and mobile computers environments.


Topical Outline

1. Introduction to Computer Forensics: computer crimes, evidence, extraction, preservation, etc. 2. Overview of hardware and operating systems: structure of file systems, Memory management, Network, Linux/Windows/MacOS. 3. Software Reverse Engineering; Understanding software vulnerabilities, identifying hostile codes. 4. OS and Software Forensics: Collecting, analyzing, and reconstructing software behaviors 5. Network Forensic: Collecting, analyzing, and reconstructing network-based evidence 6. Mobile Forensic: Issues in Android and IOS forensics 7. Computer crime and Legal issues: Criminal Justice system for forensic; Investigative procedure/standards for cybercrimes; preservation and deposition of legal evidence in a court of law; privacy issues.


Syllabus


Public CV