Spring 2013 - ISA785 Research in Digital Forensics

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Instructor:	Dr. Avinash Srinivasan
Office:	Engineering Building Room 5337
Phone:	703-993-1773
E-mail:	asriniv5 AT gmu dot edu
Office Hours:	MR 6 - 7 PM; W 3 - 4 PM; or by appointment

COURSE INFORMATION

Section 001
Room:	ENGR 1505
Day:	M
Time:	7:20 PM - 10:00 PM
Credits:	3
Course Homepage:	http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~asriniv5/ISA562.html

TA INFORMATION

Name:	TBA
Office:	TBA
E-mail:	TBA
Office Hours:	TBA

Overview

This class is an advanced graduate-level class and is geared towards understanding the fundamental concepts behind Digital Forensics. The students will be expected to participate in large projects under the guidance of the instructor. Programming language knowledge is a must. However, you can program in any language you are comfortable in.

Description

This class will be focused on current research and challenges in Digital Forensics including:

Principles, Techniques, Tools used in Digital Forensics
Computer and Network Forensic Analysis
Forensics for Mobile Devices
VM and Forensics
Cloud Computing and Forensics
Antiforensics

PREREQUISITES

INFS 501 or equivalent

INFS 515 or equivalent

INFS 590 or equivalent

SWE 510 or equivalent

TEXTBOOKS

REQUIRED – File System Forensic Analysis by Brian Carrier. Addison-Wesley Professional, (March 27, 2005) ISBN-13: 9780321268174
OPTIONAL – System Forensics, Investigation, and Response, by John R. Vacca and K. Rudolph. Jones & Bartlett Learning, (September 24, 2010) ISBN-13: 9780763791346

COMPUTER ACCOUNTS

All students should have accounts on the central Mason Unix system mason.gmu.edu (also known as osf1.gmu.edu) and on IT&E Unix cluster zeus.ite.gmu.edu (Instructions and related links are here). Please read the FAQ if you have any questions. Students can work in IT&E computer labs for programming projects during the specified hours.

GRADING POLICY

You will be graded on a total of 500 points. Your grade will be calculated as follows:

200 points – Assignments
200 points – Research Paper(s) Presentation
100 points – Term Project

Final letter grade will be calculated using the scale below-

≥ 490	A+
≥ 465	A
≥ 450	A-
≥ 435	B+
≥ 420	B
≥ 400	B-
≥ 350	C
≥ 250	F

NOTES

The Midterms and Final are closed book.

All assignments must be done individually by each student, unless explicitly required otherwise.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

If you have a documented learning disability or other condition that may affect academic performance you should:

Make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 222; 993-2474; www.gmu.edu/student/drc) to determine the accommodations you need.

Talk with me to discuss your accommodation needs.