CSE469 FALL 2023 Syllabus

Updated: Aug. 5, 2023

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  1. Syllabus Disclaimer

The syllabus is a statement of intent and serves as an implicit agreement between the instructor and the student. Every effort will be made to avoid changing the course schedule, but the possibility exists that unforeseen events will make syllabus changes necessary. Remember to check your ASU email and the course site often.

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ASU face coverings policy: Visit https://eoss.asu.edu/health/announcements/coronavirus

  1. Basic Information
    • Instructor: Jaejong Baek
    • Email: jaejong at asu.edu
    • Office: BYENG M1-38
    • Office Hours: M / W 5-6 PM (on/off)

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  1. **Course Description: Fall 2023 Class #90637 Credits: 3**

This course discusses the identification, extraction, documentation, interpretation, and preservation of computer media for evidentiary purposes and/or root cause analysis. Topics include techniques for discovering digital evidence; responding to electronic incidents; tracking communications through networks; understanding electronic media, crypto-literacy, data hiding, and system forensics; and the role of forensics in the digital environment.
Class information

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    Course Objectives

• Students will gain an understanding of the theoretical and practical knowledge of digital forensics.

• Students will investigate and analyze the latest and various types of digital evidence with real-world use cases.

• Students will experience the hands-on labs with cutting-edge technology with digital forensics tools.

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    Course Learning Outcomes

• When given digital evidence, you will be able to create forensic evidence and analyze it in a timely manner.

• When given digital evidence, you will be able to determine what methods are required and performed. On the basis of this determination, you will be able to select and use the appropriate tools and approaches to make the evidence presentable to the court.

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    Enrollment Requirements

• Prerequisite(s): Computer Sci BS or Computer Systems Engr BSE major; CSE 310 with C or better; CSE 365 with C or better OR Software Engr BS major; CSE 365 with C or better; SER 222 with C or better OR Computer Sci & Engr or Software Engr graduate student

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    Grading Policy (Tentative)

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a. Exams - Midterm: 25%
- Final: 25%

b. Homework and Attendance    
-   Assignments: 20 % (Homework, hands-on assignment)        
-   Course Project: 25 %        
-   Attendance: 5%        

Late work will receive a deduction of 20% per day late. 
Exceptions to this policy will be at the discretion of the instructor.

c. Letter Grade Threshold    
-   A+ >=97, A >=93, A- >=90 B+ >=87 B >=83 B- >=80 C+ >=77 C >=70, 
-   D >= 60, E < 60      
    ☛ I reserve the right to curve the grades 
    (by lowering the thresholds)  and the weight, 
    depending on the circumstances.    
    
-   Grade scope: TBD   |
d. Exam Proctoring    
If the exams are administered in class, notes, books, laptops, phones, smart devices (including
watches), or calculators are not allowed during exams unless otherwise announced by the 
instructor in advance. Makeup exams will not be given except in extenuating circumstances as 
determined by the instructor. In the case of an online exam, the requirements will be announced separately before exams.
If an exam date conflicts with a religious holiday (in accordance with [ACD 304-04](http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd304-04.html) or other university-sanctioned activities (in accordance with [ACD 304-02](http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd304-02.html)) the student must inform the instructor at least two weeks before the exam date to schedule a makeup exam.

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  1. Absence policies and the condition

a. Excused absences should be informed and approved by the instructor prior to the absence.

b. Excused absences related to religious observances/practices that are in accord with ACD 304–04, "Accommodation for Religious Practices"

c. Excused absences related to university-sanctioned events/activities that are in accord with ACD 304– 02, "Missed Classes Due to University-Sanctioned Activities"

d. Excused absences related to missed class due to military line-of-duty activities that are in accord with ACD 304–11

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  1. Faculty recording of class sessions

Faculty may record class meetings to make an archived recording available to enrolled students, instructors, or support personnel. Creation of recordings for groups beyond these requires consent from students who are recorded.

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  1. Lists of material

    a. Textbook: All required information for the course will be provided in the lectures. However, I highly recommend these textbooks for those wanting to gain a deeper understanding of the principles we will discuss:

    • Guide To Computer Forensics and Investigations by Bill Nelson, Amelia Phillips, and Christopher Steuart, ISBN: 1337568945

    • Digital Forensics, Investigation, and Response by Chuck Easttom, Fourth Edition, 2022, ISBN: 9781284226065

    b. Course Communication: All announcements and communications for the class will take place on Canvas and Discord : Students use Canvas to ask questions on any topic from the lectures or to discuss homework assignments. The TA, Instructor, or other students can respond or contribute to existing responses.

    c. Warning: Sharing solutions, answers, codes, etc. is expressly prohibited and will result in academic sanctions. Review the section below on Academic Integrity for more information.

    d. Important: When you send a message via email or Canvas, the title must begin with "[CSE469]".

    e. Note: If you email the instructor or TA directly and we determine it will be useful for the rest of the class, we will repost it to Canvas. ASU email is an official means of communication among students, faculty, and staff.

    f. See also The advice in "How to Ask Questions the Smart Way" will increase the chances of others answering your question.

    g. Topics: The following is only a list of possible topics we will cover throughout the semester and may change as the semester progresses.

|| |:-| 1. Computer Basics 1. File Systems 2. Operating Systems 3. Network

2.  Computer Forensics Principles
    1.  Acquisition/Preparation
    2.  Authentication/Identification
    3.  Analysis/Examination            
    4.  Documentation/Presentation            
    5.  Rules of Evidence
        
3.  Computer Forensic Technologies
    1.  Data Forensics            
    2.  Systems Forensics            
    3.  Network Forensics            
    4.  Malware Forensics            
    5.  Mobile Forensics     
   
4.  Computer Forensic Tools
    1.  Commercial Tools
    2.  Open-Source Tools
        
5.  Incident Responses        
    1.  Ethical Hacking Techniques            
    2.  Vulnerability Assessment            
    3.  Penetration Testing
        
6.  Cybercrime Investigation        
    1.  Crimes and Violations            
    2.  Cybercrime Trends            
    3.  Forensic Accounting
        
7.  Other Issues        
    1.  Ethics and Legal Issues            
    2.  Standards            
    3.  Reporting Requirements            
    4.  Hardware Reverse Engineering

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  1. Expected Classroom Behavior

Arrive on time for class. Excessive tardiness will be subject to sanctions. Under no circumstances should you allow your cell phone to ring during class. Any disruptive behavior, which includes ringing cell phones, listening to your mp3/iPod player, text messaging, constant talking, eating food noisily, or reading a newspaper will not be tolerated. The use of laptops (unless for note-taking), cell phones, MP3, iPods, etc. are strictly prohibited during class.

In group projects or assignments, all students should actively participate and contribute to the outcomes equally without free riders. According to the complaints from the group members, the score of the reported students can be canceled or reduced after one-time warning notifications.

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  1. Academic Integrity

Students in this class must adhere to ASU's academic integrity policy, which can be found at https://provost.asu.edu/academic-integrity/policy). Students are responsible for reviewing this policy and understanding each of the areas in which academic dishonesty can occur. In addition, all engineering students are expected to adhere to both the ASU Academic Integrity Honor Code and the Fulton Schools of Engineering Honor Code. All academic integrity violations will be reported to the Fulton Schools of Engineering Academic Integrity Office (AIO). The AIO maintains record of all violations and has access to academic integrity violations committed in all other ASU college/schools. Specific academic integrity announcements for this class are…[* When discussing sanctions please use language like, recommended sanctions for these violations will be…this allows for the fact that the AIO may want to discuss the sanction with you and it also improves the ability to increase the penalty when it is multiple violations]

Cheating will not be tolerated. Plagiarism, misrepresentation of work, falsification, or any other form of cheating will result in any or all of the following: 1) receiving no credit for the work in question, 2) failure of the course (grade E "failure due to academic dishonesty"), 3) referral to the department administration and/or dean, 4) other disciplinary actions as appropriate to the offense.

To understand your responsibilities as a student read: ASU Student Code of Conduct and ASU Student Academic Integrity Policy.

Students are allowed to use snippets of code found online (e.g., StackOverflow) as long as proper credit for the source is given in a comment in your code AND as long as the snippet does not constitute a significant portion of your code AND as long as the source is not another past or present student of the course.

Posting your assignment code online is expressly forbidden and will be considered a violation of the academic integrity policy. Note that this includes working out of a public GitHub repo. The GitHub Student Developer Pack provides unlimited private repositories while you are a student. If you want to impress employers with your coding abilities, create an open-source project that is done outside of class. For more information, see http://provost.asu.edu/academicintegrity

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  1. Student Copyright Responsibilities

You must refrain from uploading to any course shell, discussion board, or website used by the course instructor or other course forum, material that is not the student's original work, unless the student first complies with all applicable copyright laws; faculty members reserve the right to delete materials on the grounds of suspected copyright infringement.
The contents of this course, including lectures and other instructional materials, are copyrighted materials. Students may not share outside the class, including uploading, selling, or distributing course content or notes taken during the conduct of the course. Any recording of class sessions is authorized only for the use of students enrolled in this course during their enrollment in this course. Recordings and excerpts of recordings may not be distributed to others. (see ACD304–06, "Commercial Note Taking Services" and ABOR Policy5-308 F. 14 for more information)

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  1. Policy Against Threatening Behavior, per the Student Services Manual, SSM 104-02

Students, faculty, staff, and other individuals do not have an unqualified right of access to university grounds, property, or services. Interfering with the peaceful conduct of university-related business or activities or remaining on campus grounds after a request to leave may be considered a crime. All incidents and allegations of violent or threatening conduct by an ASU student (whether on- or off-campus) must be reported to the ASU Police Department (ASU PD) and the Office of the Dean of Students.

All incidents and allegations of violent or threatening conduct by an ASU student (whether on or off campus) must be reported to the ASU Police Department (ASU PD) and the Office of the Dean of Students. If either office determines that the behavior poses or has posed a serious threat to personal safety or to the welfare of the campus, the student will not be permitted to return to campus or reside in any ASU residence hall until an appropriate threat assessment has been completed and, if necessary, conditions for return are imposed. ASU PD, the Office of the Dean of Students, and other appropriate offices will coordinate the assessment in light of the relevant circumstances. For more information. please visit https://eoss.asu.edu/dos/srr/PoliciesAndProcedures and https://eoss.asu.edu/dos/safety/ThreateningBehavior.

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  1. Warning of Offensive Class Materials

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If your class materials are considered offensive to the class, they will be removed and reported without notification depending on the situation.

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  1. Disability Accommodations

Suitable accommodations will be made for students having disabilities. Students needing accommodations must register with the ASU Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services office and provide documentation of that registration to the instructor. Students should communicate the need for accommodation in sufficient time for it to be properly arranged. See ACD 304-08 Classroom and Testing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities.

Students requesting disability accommodation should register with the Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services (SAILS) (Before: Disability Resource Center, DRC) and present the instructor with appropriate documentation from the SAILS. The SAILS Tempe office is located on the first floor of the Matthews Center Building. SAILS staff can also be reached at: (480) 965-1234 (V) or (480) 965-9000 (TTY). For additional information, visit www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/ed/drc.

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  1. Harassment and Sexual Discrimination

Arizona State University is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation for the entire university community, including all students, faculty members, staff employees, and guests. ASU expressly prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by employees, students, contractors, or agents of the university based on any protected status: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and genetic information. Title IX is a federal law that provides that no person be excluded on the basis of sex from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity. Both Title IX and university policy make clear that sexual violence and harassment based on sex are prohibited. An individual who believes they have been subjected to sexual violence or harassed on the basis of sex can seek support, including counseling and academic support, from the university. If you or someone you know has been harassed on the basis of sex or sexually assaulted, you can find information and resources at https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/faqs. Mandated sexual harassment reporter: As a mandated reporter, I am obligated to report any information I become aware of regarding alleged acts of sexual discrimination, including sexual violence and dating violence. ASU Counseling Services, https://eoss.asu.edu/counseling, is available if you wish to discuss any concerns confidentially and privately.

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  1. Photo Requirement

Arizona State Universityrequireseach enrolled students and university employees to have on file with ASU a current photo that meets ASU's requirements (your "Photo"). ASU uses your Photo to identify you, as necessary, to provide you with educational and related services as an enrolled student at ASU. If you do not have an acceptable Photo on file with ASU, or if you do not consent to the use of your Photo, your access to ASU resources, including access to classes(online or in person) may be negatively affected or denied. Written with StackEdit.