logoEEL 4802/6803

Syllabus

Course Objectives: The ultimate goals for this course are to the stage for students to engage in hands-on and/or research in digital forensics, In particular:

  • To give the students an understanding of what Digital Forensics entails
  • To give the students a hands-on exposure to the latest tools and techniques to prepare an investigative plan.
  • To understand the common artifacts (from the Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems) to look for during forensic investigation.
  • To provide exposure to well-known and novel forensic methods using command-line and graphical open-source computer forensics tools for examining a wide range of target systems and artifacts.

    Pre-requisites: See ECE catalog (Graduate Students: Consult your advisor)

    Time and Location: This course will be held once a week for 8 weeks from 8 to noon on Saturdays.

    Grading:

    EEL 4802 (in-class)

  • In-Class Exercises 5%
  • Labs: 10%
  • Assignments: 15%
  • Final-Exam: 40%
  • Final Project: 30%
  • Extra Credit: +4 Additional Labs ; %2 Special Video

    EEL 4802 (FEEDS)

  • Class Exercises (video): 5%
  • Labs: 10%
  • Assignments: 15%
  • Final-Exam: 40%
  • Final Project: 30%
  • Extra Credit: +4% Additional Labs ; 2% Special Video

    EEL 6803 (FEEDS)

  • Class Exercises (not graded but recommended)
  • Labs: 5%
  • Assignments: 15%
  • Final-Exam: 35%
  • Final Project: 45%
  • Extra Credit: +3% Additional Labs ; 3% Learning Objects for DF

  • Attendance is not graded. However, if we have graded activities during class, you will not be able to make up those points. I may choose to take attendance but it is not graded. For students taking feeds, the class activities will be due 48 hours after the class video has been made available. The student will provide a video of their in-class assignment if required by the instructor.

    Grading Scale:

  • A: 93+
  • A-: 90
  • B+: 87
  • B: 84
  • B-: 80
  • C+: 76
  • C: 72
  • C-: 66
  • D+: 62
  • D: 58
  • F: 57 and below

    About assignments and projects

  • Information will be provided via blackboard. Some guidelines are provided here in the syllabus.
  • Blackboard will be combined into one. This may not be ready the first week.
  • To go to Blackboard, go to online.fiu.edu
  • Do not send any assigments via email.
  • Late assignments received a 15% grade deduction. Something is considered late between 24 to 48 hours after the due date. If the assigment doesn't mention the allowed time for an assigment, then it is 24 hours. If the assigment is extended, it may not have the option to submit late.
  • Graduate students should check with instructor about assignments as there are differences with undergraduate students.

    About groups

  • Undergraduate students (not in FEEDS) will be allowed to have groups of three. In rare occassions, I will allow groups of 2 or individual groups with my authorization. If groups are not formed, I will assigned the students to groups.
  • Undergraduate students (in FEEDS) will be allowed to have groups of three. I may allowed individual groups given constrainted of the groups.
  • Graduate students may form groups of two. Any different number must be approved by me.
  • Students may form groups within their type of class. For example, undergraduate students in class may only form groups with undergraduate students in class. FEEDS undergraduate students may only form groups with FEEDS undergraduate students. FEEDS graduate students may only form groups with FEEDS graduate students.
  • Labs, extra-credits, projects, in-class exercises, and assigments will be done in groups. It is the responsability of each student to understand the labs, projects, and assigments in their entirety to help them during the exam. Students are encouraged to work on their own and then come togther for the final part of the assigment (e.g., programming assigment).

    Video and Presentation: For Graduate Students

  • You will be required to present a topic of your choosing (or assigned by the instructor). Your topic should be research related. The video should be between 30 to 1 hour long.
  • It is expected that your work will be evaluated differently from the undergrad. Therefore, make sure you provide work that matches the quality of a graduate student.
  • Graduate students may performed individual projects if approved by instructor.
  • Graduate students may be required to present their project (between 15 to 30 minutes depending on instructor's instructions. This term, we will have graduate students present a week before the final.

    Video and Presentation: For Undergraduate Students

  • Undergraduate students are required to show a presentation between 15-30 minutes. Your topic may be either research related or more hands-on. This will be explained in class.
  • Undergradaute students will not present during class but they are required to submit a report of the graduate students representation,as in-class exercise. This is also done in groups.

    Group Research Project/Paper

  • Please form the group and send the research project proposal by the indicated deadline. Failure to do so will incur a penalty resulting in a reduced grade.
  • The undergraduate groups must comprise of 3 students working together throughout the course sessions. The Graduate groups comprise of 2 students.
  • The group project requires substantial amount of research work towards the review, implementation, and/or demo of any issues related to digital forensics. Accordingly, the group is asked to clearly differentiate and understand the requirements of this group research project.
  • The undergraduate groups must submit a properly formatted detail report.
  • The graduate groups must submit a publishable research paper, properly formatted utilizing the IEEE conference paper format guidelines.
  • The group leader must upload via Blackboard any demo materials (powerpoint/tools/research paper) as one zip file by deadline

    Course Policies

  • Course Contents and Grading: The course content for both graduate and undergraduate students is almost identical except the grading will be more rigorous for graduate students.
  • Attendance: Due to the modified timing and number of sessions, attendance in the course is recommended but not graded (unless we have in-class exercises, and these are never mentioned in advanced).
  • Academic Misconduct: For work submitted, it is expected that each student will submit their own original work. Any evidence of duplication, cheating or plagiarism will result at least a failing grade for the course.
  • Excused Absences: Only emergency medical situations or extenuating circumstances are excused with proper documentation. After reviewing documentation you are required to email a description of the excuse and absence dates as a written record (except for the one class).
  • On Time: It is expected for you to be at the start of the class until the end of the class.
  • Deadlines: see blackboard or this web site.
  • To get assistance request an appointment.
  • Students are encouraged to ask questions and to discuss course topics with the instructor and with each other.
  • DO NOT send assignments by email. Use Blackboard for all communications and assignment submissions.
  • Instructor reserves right to change course materials or dates as necessary.

    Exam Policies

  • Make sure to complete the assigned work in order to do well in the exam.
  • No discussion is permitted during the exams.
  • Instructor is not compelled to give credit for something he cannot read or follow logically.

    Student Conduct and Learning Environment

    Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas, and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and to honestly demonstrate the quality of their learning.

    Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook:     http://globaldatebooksonline.com/flipbooks/FIU/#2

    YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD A LOCAL COPY HERE: Student Handbook PDF - LOCAL COPY

    POLICIES:

  • Code of Academic Integrity:
        http://www.fiu.edu/~oabp/misconductweb/2codeofacainteg.htm
  • University Policies: academic misconduct, sexual harassment, religious holydays, and information on services for students with disabilities
        http://www.fiu.edu/provost/polman/sec2/sec2web2-44.htm

    • If you have any disability make sure you let me know with time to make any accommodation. Also, please make sure you check the FIU Disability Center web site at : http://drc.fiu.edu I will be more than happy to accommodate any part of this class, based on the recommendation of DRC.


    Incomplete Grade Policy:

    See "About Course" section (above).

    Important Dates:

    Holidays (university will be closed)

    How to do well in this class (applies to all classes)

    The following items are what I found during my studies to help me. Maybe some will help you

    • Read the book/slides and any other material available to be presented at the class, BEFORE CLASS!  READ EARLY AND OFTEN!
    • Do your own work. Struggling to do homework is a good exercise that will prove to be a great asset in the future.
    • Always challenge yourself.
    • Remember that you are paying tuition. Therefore, try to get the most out of it!
    • Ask questions!
    • If you are having trouble in the class, you may want double the amount of time to study the course.
    • Always do additional exercises. Always read beyond the class!
    • There are great resources online. Use them. You are expected at this level to be able to be self-sufficient.

    HOMEWORK:

    You will need to submit your homework via blackboard. When submitting homework to moodle, you will need to upload ONE compress file (zip,rar) with the following format: LastName_FirstName_PantherID_HW#.zip (or .rar) Each homework will stay if you need to print out the homework or not before coming to class.

    CLASS READING MATERIAL:

    Go to blackboard for lectures

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

  • I will try to accommodate legitimate, verifiable cases of illness and emergencies. I do accommodate religious holidays.

  • Link to undergraduate student misconduct.

  • Link to graduate student misconduct.