Digital Forensics Overview

Catalog description

With much of our personal information now being recorded digitally, the field of digital forensics has grown exponentially. This course will provide students with a strong foundation in the principles of digital forensics. Students will learn how the field has evolved over time and why digital investigations have become more pervasive. A keen understanding of file systems, including operating systems and registries, is vital to understanding the evidence that a suspect leaves behind, and therefore provides the core of this course. The ultimate objective is to use digital evidence to prove control, ownership and intent to successfully prosecute a case. Students will gain practical experience with professional digital imaging tools, like Helix, X-Ways and FTK, which are used to extract, filter and analyze digital evidence. The course will include forensic imaging techniques for both Windows Personal Computers and Apple Macintosh machines.