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Creating a Computer Forensics Curriculum

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(@yani1shu)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 12
Topic starter  

I have recently been hired to teach an Intro to Computer Forensics class at a local University. This is my first time teaching such a course and I am starting to do some research into planning the curriculum. I am curious what text books other examiners or computer forensic students find helpful and worth their time (and money). Any other thoughts, suggestions, tips, hints for teaching such a class would be very helpful.

Thaks


   
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(@bithead)
Noble Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 1206
 

Wow. So many questions would have to be answered before even beginning an answer.
- Intro as in 100 level over view?

- Intro as in the first in a series of classes?

- Intro as in an elective for CS students to see the broad range of fields?

- Something else?

- What are the goals upon completion of the class?

- What is the background of students taking the class?

- How did you end up tasked with developing a curriculum?

Just so many questions.


   
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(@yani1shu)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 12
Topic starter  

Sorry for the late response. In answer to the previous posters questions, this course is a 300 level course available to CS majors and criminal justice students. It is an introduction to the field of computer forensics, so it should cover a wide range of topics to introduce the students to the field including evidence preservation, analysis, the different tools available to investigative, file systems, etc… There is no defined "end goal" for the class, that is up to me. I am trying to find other curriculums online, if anyone has one to share that would be awesome. There is only one course currently available after this intro class and that is intro to network forensics. I hope this addresses some of the previous questions.
Thanks


   
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(@davnads)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 41
 

Just curious - what school is it for? I'm local to Chicago as well.


   
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(@Anonymous 6593)
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Joined: 17 years ago
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There is no defined "end goal" for the class, that is up to me. I am trying to find other curriculums online, if anyone has one to share that would be awesome.

Just an idea so much available material seems to concentrate on tools without actually getting into the purpose of the tools – what problems they are there to help solve. That may be the right focus in some cases, but if the student don't know what the basic problem is, it's not going to help towards solving that problem. Getting the basic problem down – after all the word 'forensic' has to mean something – will probably help to make it clear what the tools are for, and for what end-purpose they must be used.

Of course, there has to be some practical stuff in there, too, as that's what many students will expect, but getting the basics in place seems to be one very important thing.

One way to get there just might be to take some real cases that were not well served by the technical side of computer forensics, and show what that led to (i.e. show a problem), and what could have been done instead (i.e. show a possible solution). But that depends on the context of the course, the experience of the students, and so on.


   
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(@forensicakb)
Reputable Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 316
 

I would doubt if he would post in the open what school it is for.

The image of a teacher asking what books to use and what curriculum to use could be bad for the school.

Good that its asked instead of going ahead with nothing though.

Just curious - what school is it for? I'm local to Chicago as well.


   
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(@fearnothing)
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Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 8
 

I'm a 2nd year Forensic Computing student in the UK, and my tutor has indicated our personal bible should be Carrier's File System Forensic Analysis. I have it no more than a couple of feet from me at all times, it's definitely worth what I paid for it.


   
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