Syllabus for CMPTR 238 Information System Security III

Spring, 2008 (Revised 4/24/08)

Prerequisites:

• CMPTR 237 – Information System Security II
• or Permission from the Instructor

Course Description:

In this course students will explore current issues and advanced topics in network security and digital forensics.  Topics include an overview of the forensic relevance of encryption, the examination of digital evidence for clues, and the most effective way to present your evidence and conclusions in court. Unique forensic issues associated with both the UNIX and the Windows NT/2000/2003 operating systems are thoroughly covered. 

Course Objectives: At this point in your “information system security” training you probably know how to secure a network, and you know how to determine if a security breach has taken place. You may not know how to handle a security breach if corporate assets were involved, though. This course will attempt to train you in how you would cooperate with law enforcement when a crime has been committed on a computer. You’ll need this knowledge to pass any number of information systems security certification exams, including the CompTIA Security+ exam, the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC²) SSCP exam, the ISC² CISSP exam, or the IACIS Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE) exam.

Course Outcomes:

• Demonstrate a familiarity with the fundamentals of computer forensics
• Demonstrate knowledge of encryption, data hiding, and hostile code
• Describe the proper use of electronic toolkits
• Assess the need and techniques for investigating Windows Computers
• Assess the need and techniques for investigating UNIX computers
• Define the relationship between computer forensics and the criminal justice system
• Use team collaboration to develop a project that involves a current topic in computer forensics
• Show readiness for successful completion of the applicable portion of the CompTIA Security+, the ISC² SSCP, the ISC² CISSP, and/or the IACIS CFCE exam.

Course Materials:

Course Outline

This course will consist of 13 units covering the following topics:

Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Forensics

Chapter 2: Tracking an Offender

Chapter 3: The Basics of Hard Drives and Storage Media

Chapter 4: Encryption and Forensics

Chapter 5: Data Hiding

Chapter 6: Hostile Code

Chapter 7: Your Electronic Toolkit

Chapter 8: Investigating Windows Computers

Chapter 9: Introduction to UNIX for Forensic Examiners

Chapter 10: Compromising a UNIX Host

Chapter 11: Investigating a UNIX Host

Chapter 12: Introduction to the Criminal Justice System

Chapter 13: Conclusion

Course Schedule:

Week 1: Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Forensics

Week 2: Chapter 2: Tracking an Offender

Week 3: Chapter 3: The Basics of Hard Drives and Storage Media

Week 4: Chapter 4: Encryption and Forensics

Week 5: Chapter 5: Data Hiding

Week 6: Chapter 6: Hostile Code

Week 7: Chapter 7: Your Electronic Toolkit

Week 8: Chapter 8: Investigating Windows Computers

Week 9: Chapter 9, 10, and 11: Introduction to UNIX for Forensic Examiners, Compromising a UNIX Host, and Investigating a UNIX Host

Week 10: Chapter 12 and 13: Introduction to the Criminal Justice System and Conclusion

Discussion Board & Chat Sessions

Discussion is a very important component of this course. Just like in a traditional class, you will be expected to participate in discussions with your instructor and fellow students about course Unit and Learning Event topics.

Discussion Board

Discussion Board topics are tied to specific course Learning Events for each week of the ten-week session. Discussion board participation is required and evaluated qualitatively by the Instructor.

Course Schedule

Lecture Schedule: CMPTR 238 meets 2.5 hours per week, in class. Each week I will use the classroom time to introduce or review information systems security topics. Additional online time will be needed for research and study activities, group or partner work, submission of assignments, and assessment.

Ground-based Sessions

The Instructor delivers two and a half clock hours of traditional classroom lecture time scheduled during the week.  Classroom attendance is not mandatory and your participation in the classroom is not graded and will not be included in the course grade.  Nevertheless, you are encouraged to attend as many of the classroom sessions as your schedule will allow. For those who cannot attend the ground-based classroom session, an alternative would be to attend the online classroom session in the virtual classroom.  This chat session will serve as an alternative forum for presenting course materials and will give the student an opportunity to ask any questions that might come up during the week.  Additionally, lecture notes are available on the course website on WAOL.  Look under - Course Documents - and the Unit for the week.  The lecture notes will then be found under the heading of - Topic Review -.

• Tuesdays 5:00 PM to 7:15 PM (T-213 Classroom)

Virtual Classroom Sessions and Chat Sessions

The Instructor delivers one clock hour of real-time chat scheduled at a pre-selected time in a seven-day calendar week to accommodate diverse schedules. This time is open to change.  You are not required to attend the real-time chats. The real-time chats focus on the Unit topic for each week of the ten-week session and are archived, so you can review the discussion on your own schedule. Real-time chats are not included in the course grade, but serve as a valuable resource for your learning experience.

• Thursdays 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM (Virtual Classroom)

Other Course Components

ExamView

Online Testing will conducted via the ExamView website - http://www.evtestcenter.com/

File naming standards for CMPTR 238 – The following naming standards must be used when submitting assignments by electronic mail or via the “digital dropbox” within WAOL.

Discussion Board Assignment – Course name, followed by the Unit Number (Week Number), Last Name, First Name, abbreviation for the Assignment type and Assignment number

Example: CMPTR238_U10_Blackwell_Kevin_DB.doc

Group Project – Course name, followed by the Unit Number (Week Number), Last Name, First Name, abbreviation for the Assignment type and Assignment number

Example: CMPTR238_U10_Blackwell_Kevin_GP.doc

Lab – Course name, followed by the Unit Number (Week Number), Last Name, First Name, abbreviation for the Assignment type and Assignment number

Example: CMPTR238_U10_Blackwell_Kevin_LAB.doc

E-mail Etiquette – The following guidelines should be adhered to in order to assure a fast, accurate and meaningful response from e-mail sent by the student to the instructor.  Remember, the instructor has many students in many classes.  Incorrectly formatted e-mail may hinder/delay a response back from your instructor.

Use only the e-mail address at the bottom of the syllabus for corresponding with your instructor.

Example:

kblackwell@oc.ctc.edu

The subject line should always include your course number and the student’s name.  Cryptic e-mail addresses are too hard to correlate with “real” student names.  If you don’t put an appropriate subject line on your e-mail, you may not get a response.

Example:

Subject Line: CMPTR_238, Blackwell, Kevin – This is what I need help with

Course Evaluation

Graded Learning Events

Every Unit has from 3 to 4 Learning Events (known traditionally as assignments). Instructions for each Learning Event are provided within the Unit topic identified for each week. Each Learning Event concludes with a deliverable product. Deliverable products may range from a paragraph narrative, a research paper, a PowerPoint Presentation, programming code, an analysis of the Learning Event, to an HTML Web page. These deliverable products are evaluated using the course evaluation methods.

Student Assessment

A Student Assessment is included for every Unit of instruction. When two Units are covered during one week, a single assessment will be used to cover both units.  The course platform’s testing feature is utilized for this Student Assessment. True/False, Multiple Choice, Yes/No, or Matching are used for students to evaluate their own knowledge acquisition for each Unit’s identified course outcomes.

Assignment Weighting:

Course Evaluation Grading Scale

Policies

Student Conduct:

Everyone deserves to have a good learning environment. I will follow the rules of the college in the classroom. Please see the Student Handbook for the Student Conduct Code. All forms of dishonesty will be subject to immediate disciplinary action (see the section below on Academic Honesty). Classroom disruptions such as tardiness, talking during lecture and cell phone use are not acceptable. Repeated infractions will be referred to the Vice President of Student Services. Please turn off your cell phone before entering the classroom.

Academic Honesty

At Olympic College, students are expected to demonstrate academic integrity by completing their own work assignments and assessments. Effective planning and progress must be accomplished for students to be successful in their degree program of study. Submission of work from another person, whether it is from printed sources or someone other than the student, previously graded papers, papers submitted without proper source citation, or submitting the same paper to multiple courses without the knowledge of all instructors involved can result in a failing grade or be reported to the Olympic College Vice Principle of Student Services for appropriate sanctions or disciplinary actions. All students are expected to adhere to the standards as set forth in the Student Code of Conduct and Statement on Academic Honesty.

The administration, faculty, and student government of Olympic College believe strongly in the concept of an honor system. This belief is based on the knowledge that in competitive professional environments, greater emphasis is placed on originality and integrity of ideas and work. All members of the Olympic College academic community, including faculty, students, and administration, are expected to assist in maintaining the integrity of the College, which includes reporting incidents that violate the Statement on Academic Honesty.

For Olympic College course work, please note that learning events are to be that of the student’s own work, and group projects are collaborative efforts.

Course Participation

Online students are required to participate in their online courses in an academically-related activity comparable to the minimum of one contact hour of instruction in a seven-day calendar week (Sunday to Saturday) for each week of a 10-week quarter. This participation is captured and recorded as the Last Date of Attendance (LDA) in the student records system and updated with each consecutive login. This provides a dynamic update to the LDA in the student’s academic record for real-time monitoring of course participation throughout a quarter. In the event of a student-initiated or administrative withdrawal, the LDA is used as the official date of withdrawal. Academic Advisors track course participation weekly and may contact students who have fallen behind in course assignments.

Homework Policy:

You are responsible for doing all online assignments, reviewing the online materials for that week, participating in the group activity for the week, and turning in all assignments on time. You will also have a weekly reading assignment, which will support that week's learning objectives, and which you are encouraged to complete ahead of time. Post any questions that you may have to either the common area of your class, where the questions may be answered by any students, or post them directly to me. Please bring your questions that cannot be answered online to class each Tuesday.

Writing Lab

Students are encouraged to make use of the Olympic College Writing Center.  The Writing Center is located in Humanities 115, open from 9 – 5 M & Tu, and 9 – 2 W – F.  Students are encouraged to make appointments, but may also drop in.  The phone # is 475-7318.

If you are struggling with the research papers [Individual Projects] or the requirement for strict APA Style formatting, a tutor in the writing center will be able to provide you with assistance for this course requirement.

Special Accommodations:

If you have a disability and will need special services, please call or visit Access Services as soon as possible. They are in Humanities Building, room 114 (360) 475-7540.

Can I Help?

I want you to do well in this class and in college. If you have a problem or situation that is affecting your schoolwork, please let me know. Olympic College has many services to help students be successful. You can contact me by e-mail, voice mail, or talk to me right before or after class.

Instructor Information

Name: Kevin Blackwell
E-mail: kblackwell@oc.ctc.edu

Phone: (W) 360-475-7379

Instructor Office Hours:

·        Monday through Thursday, 9:00 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. (T-215)