Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics

This course examines information concealment techniques, technologies, hardware, software, and relevant legislation for cyber forensics to reveal and track legal and illegal activity. The course examines the process for investigation and introduces the tools and procedures required to legally seize and forensically evaluate a suspect machine. Also covered are the rules of evidence, chain of custody, standard operating procedures, and the manipulation of technology to conceal illegal activities, and revealing concealed information using cyber forensics.

The global reach of the Internet, the low cost of online activity, and the relative anonymity of users has led to an increase in computer related crimes. This course focuses on cybercrime investigation and prevention; it appraises the legal issues related to on-line criminal conduct, the collection of electronic evidence, and the onslaught of new technology. This course also analyzes the phases, processes, and challenges of cybercrime investigations, and it examines technical, legal, and social issues relating to the search and seizure of digital evidence and computer forensics. Students will encounter the challenges of the latency between technology and the law.

Telecommunications networks are a critical component of the global economic and social infrastructures. Securing critical infrastructure is an established priority within Information Security Management. This course examines the field of secure telecommunications networks, including emerging threats, system vulnerability, network evolution, and network defense mechanisms.

This course is an advanced study of the models of investigative methods for finding evidence in a wide scope of disparate digital devices such as computers, networks, mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 players, and any device or appliance that carries an electronic circuit board which could potentially store data or information. It also examines the science, the evidence, and the law related to digital forensics, the validation of findings, and determination of acceptable and irrefutable evidence in a court of law. It also evaluates various digital forensics models for data identification, preservation, collection, examination, analysis, preparation, and presentation.

This course is an advanced study of the principles and methodologies of the e-discovery process and the increasing importance of digital evidence in litigation. Topics include contemporary investigative methods, legal issues, cost containment, collecting and prioritizing data sets, preservation of digital evidence, document review, metadata and spoliation considerations, comparative assessments, and forensic investigations.

Information Security includes an evaluation of the techniques, policies and strategies to ensure that data stored in an organization's computers cannot be accessed or processed without the consent of the organization. Also included, is an analysis of Information Security & Risk Management, Access Control, Physical Security, Security Architecture & Design, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Planning, Telecommunications & Network Security, Application Security, Operations Security, Law, Compliance & Investigations. This course also reviews the building blocks of information systems and cryptography is provided to reinforce the scope of security management.