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 1 - 2023

Term 2 - 2023 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 30%
3. Take Home Exam 50%

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 - 2021 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 4.2 (on a 5 point Likert scale), based on a 50% 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: Students evaluation feedback and teaching team observation.
Feedback
Students appreciated the quality of the unit and the hands-on labs through MindTap.
Recommendation
Maintain the quality delivery of the unit; continue using MindTap for tutorial activities.
Action Taken
The quality delivery of the unit has been maintained. The use of MindTap for tutorial activities has been continued.
Source: Students evaluation feedback and UC observation.
Feedback
Students struggled to locate the forensics tools required for the group assignment.
Recommendation
Provide download links for the required forensic tools.
Action Taken
Download links for the required forensic tools have been provided to students.
Source: UC observation.
Feedback
The material on ethics required for the group assignment was not covered early enough.
Recommendation
The unit will be restructured to cover ethics earlier.
Action Taken
The topic of ethics was covered prior to the assessment submission week.
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
Nil.
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
Nil.
Source: Staff observation.
Feedback
Case studies used in the forensics investigation assessment are limited.
Recommendation
Explore new case studies for the assessment.
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) recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is in use in over 100 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 at https://www.acs.org.au/professionalrecognition/mysfia-b2c.html

This unit contributes to the following workplace skills as defined by SFIA. The SFIA code is included:

  • Digital forensics (DGFS)
  • Network Support (NTAS)
  • Penetration testing (PENT)
  • Problem Management (PBMG)
  • Data Analysis (DTAN)
  • Service Desk and Incident Management (USUP)

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 - Take Home Exam • • • •
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
2 - Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
1 - In-class Test(s) • • •
3 - Take Home Exam • • • • •