AAS in Digital Forensics with specialization in Cyber Crime or Information Assurance

http://www.richlandcollege.edu/forensics/certificates.php

Course length

Traditional 16-weeks semester length courses with some 8-weeks fast track configuration. See the course catalog for specific course schedule: http://www.richlandcollege.edu/schedules/

Digital Forensics courses are identified by ITDF XXXX and Information Security courses identified by ITSY XXXX where XXXX is the course identifier and the second digit indicates the course credit hours.

Course description

Course 1 - ITDF 1300 Introduction to Digital Forensics ( on-line as well )
( good computer skills and willingness to learn many new programs; good text comprehension and the ability to read between the lines; organized and someone who can multitask )

- Learn how to write reports
- Remove hidden data from office documents
- File integrity ( MD5 )
- Image cleanup lab to show importance of clean images before adding them to the database for authentication
- CyberCiege, Hacker, and hackthissite.org SP800-50 and SP800-16 in relation to HPT
- CODECS
- Data and Password Storage
- Phishing and reporting
- Alternate Data Streams
- E-Mail header analysis
- Info 1 - Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
- Info 2 - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996

Course 2 - ITDF 1370 Introduction to Cyber Crime ( on-line as well )
( no lab component, so reading comprehension and the ability to talk about computer concepts and business/security implications )

- An Overview of Ethics
- Ethics for IT Professionals and IT Users
- Computer and Internet Crime
- Privacy
- Freedom of Expression
- Intellectual Property
- Software Development
- Employer/Employee Issues
- The Impact of Information Technology on the Quality of Life
- Info 1 - DRM
- Info 2 - NIST ( National Institute of Standards and Technology )
- Info 3 - FIPS ( Federal Information Processing Standard )

Course 3 - ITDF 2470 Financial Cyber Crime ( on-line as well )
( no lab component; exploratory mindset and the willingness to learn new ways to think about using the computer in a public network )

- Viruses, Worms and Trojan Horses
- SpyWare
- AddWare
- Physical Security
- Firewalls
- Wireless
- Web Surfing
- Instant Messaging & Chat Rooms
- Spam
- Fraud, Phishing, Social Engineering
- Operating System Patches
- Backups and Disaster Recovery
- Disk & Registry Maintenance
- Passwords
- Protecting Personal and Confidential Information

Course 4 - ITDF 1305 Fundamentals of Digital Data Storage
( solid understanding of how computers work and the willingness to go beyond the obvious; open mind to lean Base-2, Base-16 numbering systems and to learn an assortment of forensic tools; not being afraid to be challenged )

- Computer Forensics and Investigation as a Profession
- Understanding Computing Investigations
- The Investigator's Office and Laboratory
- Data Acquisitions
- Processing Crime and Incident Scenes
- Working with Windows and DOS Systems
- Current Computer Forensics Tools
- Macintosh and Linux Boot Processes and File Systems
- Computer Forensics Analysis and Validation
- Recovering Graphics Files
- Network Forensics
- E-mail Investigations
- Cell Phone and Mobile Device Forensics
- Report Writing for High-Tech Investigations
- Expert Testimony in High-Tech Investigations
- Ethics for the Expert Witness

Course 5 - ITDF 2425 Digital Forensics Tools
( do not even attempt to enroll unless you have taken all previous courses or have some forensic experience; builds on the concept learned in previous courses; takes a concept and place it in a specific tool; logical ability to see patterns )

- Creating your portable toolset
- Computer Hardware
- File Systems
- First Response
- Acquiring Digital Evidence
- EnCase Concepts
- EnCase Environment
- Understanding, Searching For, and Bookmarking Data
- File Signature Analysis and Hash Analysis
- Windows Operating System Artifacts.
- Advanced EnCase
- Creating Paperless Reports

Course 6 - ITDF 2330 Digital Forensics Analysis
( build on course 5, thus you will be lost if not taken that course or has no forensic experience; takes the same concepts as in course 5, but in a different tool; expands the concepts that can overwhelm someone with limited exposure to previously discussed topics )

- Understanding and Exploiting Windows Networks.
- Network Investigation Overview.
- Working with FTK Imager ( acquisition, hashes, CD/DVD, converting )
- The Microsoft Network Structure.
- Working with FTK ( overview, new case, case log, filter, copy special )
- Beyond the Windows GUI.
- Processing Case - Graphics
- Windows Password Issues.
- Processing Case - E-Mail
- Windows Ports and Services.
- Narrowing your focus ( custom hash analysis )
- Live-Analysis Techniques.
- Case Reporting
- Windows File Systems.
- Cryptography 101
- The Registry Structure.
- PRTK ( Password Recovery Tool Kit )
- Registry Evidence.
- Windows registry
- Tool Analysis.
- Registry Viewer
- Text-Based Logs.
- Advanced UTK ( Ultimate Toolkit )
- Windows Event Logs.
- Steps for successful password recovery
- Logon and Account Logon Events.
- Regular Expression Searching
- Other Audit Events.
- dtSearch Search Request
- Forensic Analysis of Event Logs.
- Decryption technology
- Presenting the Results. EFS ( Encrypting File System )

Course 7 - ACNT 1305 Forensic Accounting
Accounting fraud and examination designed to provide a basic understanding of the impact that fraud has on an organization.

Course 8 - ITDF 2435 Comprehensive Digital Forensics Project
( reports, research, and methodology must be that of the procedures learned from the previous courses; it will be enforced to have the specific structure; only those can complete this course who are familiar with these required elements from previous courses )

Project where students utilize all they have learned in the previous courses, in the degree plan. The project can involve actual cases or a research based on actual case needs. The research focuses on a complete analysis of a concept or technology to aid the digital forensic community as a whole. Outcome of this course will result in a investigative methodology of the chosen topic.

For more than 30 years, Richland College of the Dallas County Community College District has focused on teaching, learning and community building. In recognition of these efforts, the White House and the Dept. of Commerce named Richland a 2005 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the only community college to have received this award. Richland helps students build their future through courses that can be applied to the first two years of a baccalaureate degree, one- or two-year certificates in a number of career fields, and training in the latest technology for students who want to advance in their current careers. The student body of approximately 15,000 college credit students and about 5,000 continuing education students at Richland is internationally and ethnically diverse, speaking more than 90 first languages. More about us at http://www.richlandcollege.edu/about/

Admissions and entry requirements

See http://www.richlandcollege.edu/admissions/process.php for general details but please note that prospective students need to see a technical advisor and not a general advisor since they are more knowledgeable about these types of courses. See Technical Education Advising (TEA) at http://www.richlandcollege.edu/tea/ for further details.

Fees

See https://www1.dcccd.edu/cat0910/tuition/tuition.cfm?loc=8

Contact Person

Zoltan Szabo
Instructor
zszabo@dcccd.edu
Tel: 972-238-6059