In Progress
Please note that this Unit Profile is still in progress. The content below is subject to change.Overview
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
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisite: COIT11238 Networked Infrastructure Foundations and COIT12206 TCP/IP Principles and Protocols.
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).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
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).
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.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
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.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
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.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator reflection.
The textbook is outdated.
Consider updating the textbook to include more recent editions or relevant resources.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator reflection and unit evaluation feedback.
Assessment 1 quizzes are perceived as cumbersome and less engaging, particularly when compared to the hands-on lab activities that students consistently find more practical, engaging, and valuable for their learning experience.
Consider replacing the current Assessment 1 quizzes with an alternative assessment format, such as a portfolio, that better supports engagement and evaluates practical skills.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator observation.
The pre-requisite units COIT11233 and COIT13147 are no longer offered, but COIT11238 and COIT12206 are still valid.
Consider updating the prerequisite statement to reflect the current units: pre-requisite: COIT11238 and COIT12206.
- Define electronic crime and digital forensics
- Describe the role of digital forensic professionals in investigation and prevention of electronic crime in business environments
- Apply a systematic approach to the capture, recording, and analysis of events in a digital forensic investigation
- Discuss the legal issues involved in a forensic investigation and in current professional forensic practice
- 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 9 (the SFIA code is included):
- Digital forensics (DGFS)
- Network Support (NTAS)
- 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 - Portfolio - 30% | |||||
| 2 - In-class Test(s) - 25% | |||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 45% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| 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 | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||