COIT12201 - Electronic Crime and Digital Forensics

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This advanced unit provides you with a broad understanding of electronic crime and digital forensics in investigations of electronic criminal activities. In this unit, you will learn digital forensics procedures and tools, methods of using digital evidence in justice and legal issues in digital forensics. You will use industry leading software tools to conduct your own forensics investigation on realistic case studies. Completion of this unit enables you to pursue careers within an electronic crime investigation unit of law enforcement agencies, government departments, and businesses.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisite: (COIT11233 or COIT11238) and (COIT13147 or COIT12206)

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2023

Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Townsville

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. In-class Test(s) 20%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Online Test 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 50.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 32.43% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Unit evaluation.
Feedback
Students enjoyed working in groups and learning the skills needed for the forensic investigation assessment.
Recommendation
Continue offering the group assessment with forensic investigative tasks.
Action Taken
The group assessment with forensic investigative tasks was continued to be offered during the term.
Source: Unit evaluation and staff observation.
Feedback
Students appreciated the variety of techniques, tools and legal/ethical implications covered in the unit.
Recommendation
Continue to cover the application of a variety of tools and techniques and legal/ethical issues related to digital forensics.
Action Taken
The coverage of the application of a variety of tools and techniques and legal/ethical issues related to digital forensics were continued.
Source: Staff observation.
Feedback
Case studies used in the forensics investigation assessment are limited.
Recommendation
Explore new case studies for the assessment.
Action Taken
A new case scenario was included in the assessment specification.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluations (SUTE) feedback and Unit Coordinator's reflection.
Feedback
The textbook does not address the Australian legal frameworks relevant to electronic crime and digital forensics, which is a topic of significant interest for students.
Recommendation
Include Australian legal frameworks associated with electronic crime and digital forensics in the unit.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE feedback and Unit Coordinator's reflection.
Feedback
The group assessment weighting does not adequately reflect the necessary effort required to enhance student dedication and the quality of their work.
Recommendation
Review the weighting of the assessments and adjust them to better reflect the effort required for the group-based assessment, while also ensuring that the weightage of the individual component is appropriately balanced.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Define electronic crime and digital forensics
  2. Describe the role of digital forensic professionals in investigation and prevention of electronic crime in business environments
  3. Apply a systematic approach to the capture, recording, and analysis of events in a digital forensic investigation
  4. Discuss the legal issues involved in a forensic investigation and in current professional forensic practice
  5. Prepare a design and report for a digital forensic investigation.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS), the professional association for Australia's ICT sector, recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is adopted by organisations, governments, and individuals in many countries and provides a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles. ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile.

This unit contributes to the following workplace skills as defined by SFIA 8 (the SFIA code is included):

  • Digital forensics (DGFS)
  • Network Support (NTAS)
  • Penetration testing (PENT)
  • Problem Management (PBMG)
  • Incident Management (USUP)
  • Information security ( SCTY)

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Framework defines knowledge, skills and tasks needed to perform various cyber security roles. Developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NICE Framework is used by organisations to plan their workforce, including recruit into cyber security positions.

This unit helps prepare you for roles within electronic crime investigation unit of law enforcement agencies, government departments, and businesses, contributing to the following knowledge and skills:

  • K0003 Knowledge of laws, regulations, policies, and ethics as they relate to cybersecurity and privacy.
  • K0117 Knowledge of file system implementations (e.g., New Technology File System [NTFS], File Allocation Table [FAT], File Extension [EXT]).
  • K0622 Knowledge of controls related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of data.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - In-class Test(s) • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Online Test • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking • •
4 - Information Literacy • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
8 - Ethical practice • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10