Howard Community College Computer Forensics Program

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Howard Community College Computer Forensics
Program
Vinitha Nithianandam, MS Professor of Computer
Support Technology Co-Director of Computer
Forensics Patrick J. OGuinn, Sr., JD,
MPAAssociate Professor Criminal Justice Co -
Director Computer Forensics
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Need for Computer Forensics Professional

• Law Enforcement
• Police
• Homeland Security
• Government Contracting Companies

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HCC Computer Forensics Program History

• Technology department partnered with Criminal
  Justice program to develop computer Forensics
  courses
• 2006 - CFOR Degree Program Started as Criminal
  Justice Degree Option
• Initially, No University Programs existed in
  Maryland for CFOR Degree Transfer
• Core Curriculum Consists of Four Intense
  Hands-On Lecture/Labs, Case Studies Lab
  Analysis, Legal Considerations Crime Scene
  Investigation Projects

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Common References to Computer Forensics

• Cyber forensics
• Cyber crime
• Digital Forensics
• However, all have the common purpose of applying
  forensic computer investigation and analysis
  techniques to gather evidence suitable for
  presentation in a court of law or business matter

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Forensic Science

• The application of scientific techniques for
  investigating, preserving and examining evidence
  in a particular field to establish an evidentiary
  basis for use in court cases. Source
  Merriam-Webster unnamed reference

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Computer Forensics

• Computer Forensics involves the preservation,
  identification, extraction, examination,
  documentation, and interpretation of computer
  media for evidentiary use in legal proceedings,
  administrative hearings, and business

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HCC Computer Forensics Program Philosophy

• Marriage of Interrelated Disciplines a.
  Computer Forensic Procedures b. File
  Structures of operating system
• C. Operating System Artifacts
• d. Laws of Evidence Procedure
• Hands On Learning by Doing Approach
• A Quick Start to Entry-Level CFOR Careers

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HCC Computer Forensics Transfer Degree

• 2006 - HCC Established Transfer Articulation
  Agreement with Univ. of Baltimore Criminal
  Justice Program
• 2007- HCC Approved New IT Computer Forensics
  Transfer Degree Option
• 2007 - Informal Articulation Agreement with
  Stevenson University
• Computer Technology Programs Partnerships Are
  Still Evolving

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HCC Computer Forensics Core Courses

• CFOR I01 - Computer Forensics 1
• CFOR 200 - Computer Forensics II
• CFOR 210 -Computer Forensics III
• CFOR 250 - Computer Network Forensics Technology
  

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CFOR I 01 Computer Forensic I

• Basic CFOR Theories Protocol
• Basic computer system
• Disk Geometry
• File system Structures
• Dos Tools (Disk editor, etc) Windows Forensic
  Tools
• Case Studies, Crime Scene Investigation,
  Privacy/Privilege Laws

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CFOR 200 Computer Forensics II

• Advanced CFOR Theory Practice
• Windows Artifacts (Windows XP)
• Hash and Signature Analysis, Restoring Deleted
  Partitions
• Case Studies, Report Writing
• Computer Forensics Laws
• Password Recovery
• CD/DVD analysis
• File System -NTFS

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CFOR 210 Computer Forensics III

• Advanced CFOR Concepts Analysis
• Windows Forensic Tools
• Cross validation
• Cell Phone forensics
• PDA Hand Held Device Analysis Tools
• Examiner Witness Preparation Testimony
• Advanced Report Writing

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CFOR 250 Network Forensics

• Network Incident Response
• Analyzing network traffic (sniffing)
• Netbios/FileSharing attacks
• Examining hacked system
• IP and e-mail tracing
• Network Protocols
• Case Studies
• Live Forensics analysis

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HCC Computer Forensics Enrollment

• Approximately 50 students are currently enrolled
  in HCC CFOR Courses
• Future Enrollment Increases Are Expected to
  Continue as Program Expands Diversifies

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HCC Computer Forensics Student Profiles

• Information Technology Professionalsa. Network
  Security, DB Admins, Programmersb. Software
  Developers, Help Desk Engineersc. Network
  Engineers, Intelligence, Consultantsd. Federal
  Agency IT Employees
• HCC Criminal Justice Students
• HCC Information Technology Students
• University IT Majors (Maryland, Hopkins, etc)
• Public School Technology Teachers/Trainers
• Registered Nurses
• Law Enforcement Agents/Officers

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HCC Computer Forensics Student Backgrounds

• Typical CFOR Student Credentialsa. In Progress-
  HCC AA Transfer Degree Studentsb. Bachelors
  Degree College Grads
• c. Masters Degree College Grads
• d. Retired Business Professionals
• e. Holders of Multiple IT Certifications
• f. Certified Public School Teachers

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HCC Computer Forensics

• Howard County Police CFOR Police Academy Recruit
  Training Curriculum
• JHU Digital Forensics Challenge

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HCC Computer Forensics Student Examiners

• Our Students Handle

Incident Scene Evidence Collection
Crime/Incident Scene Diagrams
Computer Forensic Lab Analysis
Expert Witness Testimony
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HCC Computer Forensics Q A Session

• Your Questions Comments Are Welcome
• Thanks to Dr. Davina Pruitt-Mentle for giving me
  an opportunity to present