COIT20267 - Computer Forensics

Showing: 2026 HE Term 1
General Information

Unit Synopsis

The continual integration of computers and the Internet into business and personal activities is creating opportunities for crimes utilising these technologies. The investigation of these electronic crimes requires specialised computer-based techniques to collect and analyse evidence. This unit equips you with a broad understanding of how electronic crimes are conducted, as well as in-depth knowledge of computer forensic investigations. Through the use of industry-leading digital forensic tools in a laboratory environment, you will develop practical skills applicable to all phases of forensic investigations. You will learn different approaches for identifying, gathering and analysing digital evidence, as well as addressing legal issues in computer forensic investigations.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisite: COIT20261 Network Routing and Switching

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 - 2026


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 Postgraduate 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. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
2. Written Assessment 35%
3. Written Assessment 45%

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

Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2021 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 84.62% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 38.24% 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 feedback and teachers reflection
Feedback:
 Enjoyed practical lab exercises and assessment tasks using forensic tools.

Recommendation:
 Continue using practical lab exercises using Virtual Lab, MindTap, etc.

Action Taken:
 The practical lab exercises were kept as is. Assignment three was further aligned with the practical lab exercises. The practical lab exercises using Virtual Lab, MindTap, has been awarded the 'Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Exemplary Practice in Learning and Teaching 2021'.
Source: Students feedback
Feedback:
 Some parts of Assignment 3 are unclear or hard to follow

Recommendation:
 Improve the clarity of the assignment specifications by breaking them down into smaller tasks

Action Taken:
 Some of the components of assignment three were rewritten and elaborated to give students a better understanding of the assignment.
Source: Teaching team
Feedback:
 A Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) document could be helpful to overcome technical difficulties related to MindTap (for example, adding the link to the whitelist).

Recommendation:
 Work with the teaching team to develop a FAQ document to list helpful tips and resources

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Source: Teaching team
Feedback:
 In Assignment two, students do not have many case studies to select from, and as a result have limited opportunity to apply a diverse set of computer forensics techniques.

Recommendation:
 Develop more case studies to be incorporated in Assignment two.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Unit Learning Outcomes

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

  1. Discuss the different types of electronic crime and the need for a computer forensics investigation
  2. Analyse the role of computer forensic professionals in enabling successful investigation and prevention of electronic crime in business environments
  3. Apply a systematic approach in a digital investigation through the conduct of computer forensics procedures and the use of computer forensic tools
  4. Apply the necessary steps required for collecting, storing, analysing and validating digital evidence
  5. Explain the legal issues involved in a computer forensic investigation
  6. Evaluate current industry best practices for analysing computer forensic case scenarios.
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:
  • Information Security (SCTY)
  • Digital forensics (DGFS)
  • Data analysis (DTAN)
  • Testing (TEST)
  • Network Support (NTAS)
  • Application Support (ASUP).
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Knowledge • • • • • •
2 - Communication • • • • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • • • •
4 - Research • • • • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • • • • •
7 - Leadership •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • •