1. Introduction to Digital Forensics: An overview of the field of digital forensics, its importance in investigations, and the legal and ethical considerations involved.
2. Computer Systems and Networks: Understanding computer hardware, operating systems, file systems, and network architectures to effectively investigate digital devices and network-based crimes.
3. Digital Evidence Acquisition and Preservation: Techniques for acquiring, preserving, and documenting digital evidence while maintaining its integrity and ensuring admissibility in court.
4. Forensic Imaging and Analysis: Methods for creating forensic images of digital storage media and analyzing them using specialized software tools to uncover evidence of cybercrimes.
5. Mobile Device Forensics: Techniques for extracting and analyzing digital evidence from smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, including recovering deleted data and analyzing app artifacts.
6. Network Forensics: Investigating network-based attacks, analyzing network traffic, identifying intrusions, and tracing the source of cyber threats.
7. Malware Analysis: Techniques for analyzing and reverse-engineering malicious software to understand its behavior, identify indicators of compromise, and develop effective countermeasures.
8. Cybercrime Investigation: Strategies for investigating various types of cybercrimes, including identity theft, online fraud, hacking, and intellectual property theft.
9. Legal and Ethical Considerations: Understanding the legal frameworks, rules of evidence, and ethical guidelines governing digital forensic investigations, as well as privacy issues and data protection laws.
10. Report Writing and Expert Testimony: Developing skills in writing comprehensive forensic reports and presenting findings as an expert witness in legal proceedings.
11. Incident Response and Cybersecurity: Understanding incident response procedures, incident handling, and cybersecurity best practices to effectively respond to and mitigate cyber incidents.
12. Digital Forensics Lab Management: Managing a digital forensics laboratory, including equipment and software selection, evidence handling protocols, and quality assurance procedures.
The evaluation process is conducted through the submission of assignments, and there are no written examinations involved.