Forensic Investigation (Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity Option)

The Canadian criminal justice system is an adversarial system which pits the accused person against the State. The adversarial process follows a well-defined series of procedural steps from initial complaint to verdict and sentencing. This course provides a detailed examination of the legal procedures that govern criminal proceedings in Canada including the tendering of evidence by both Crown and defence, with a particular emphasis on issues applicable to forensic investigators and technicians.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course introduces students to the scientific principles of digital forensics and provides a good forensic evidence acquisition experience with the most common digital devices found today. Students will learn the fundamental components of a forensic investigation, including proper evidence collection, the chain of custody, and forensic standards for legal evidence. Students will understand how to forensically acquire laptop/desktop computers, mobile phones, Raid arrays and USB drives, as each device type often requires a unique combination of skills, techniques and forensic tools to capture a forensic image that can be used for evidentiary purposes. The course offers a brief introduction to data recovery methods and techniques, which would assist the future investigator in extracting data from non-functioning digital devices.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course is an introduction to cybersecurity, with an emphasis on the fundamental skills needed to design and maintain secure systems. Topics will include access control, logging and monitoring, and hardening systems. The course will also cover the foundations of network communication, and students will be taught the basic scripting skills required to automate key cybersecurity tasks. Through lectures and hands-on labs in a Linux environment, student will learn the foundational skills required to move on to advanced courses in Network Security and Administration. This course is an introduction to cybersecurity, with an emphasis on the fundamental skills needed to design and maintain secure systems. Topics will include access control, logging and monitoring, and hardening systems. The course will also cover the foundations of network communication, and students will be taught the basic scripting skills required to automate key cybersecurity tasks. Through lectures and hands-on labs in a Linux environment, student will learn the foundational skills required to move on to advanced courses in Network Security and Administration.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

​This course introduces students to the concepts of cloud computing, forensics and security. The course will touch on advanced cloud concepts, including security and privacy, and discuss the best methods to store, control, manage and access private and corporate data in the cloud while addressing issues such as risk management and disaster recovery. The course will discuss the modern cloud forensics approaches and challenges with preserving, collecting and processing cloud-based data and the best methods and tools to commence a forensics investigation in the cloud.​
Prerequisite(s):

• No prerequisites are required for this course.

This is a course in advanced composition and rhetoric, in which students will develop skills in complex critical analysis and interpretation by analyzing and evaluating materials from a variety of discourses or genres, including visual, online, and print; developing and writing essays, including critiques and research papers; applying and discussing principles of rhetoric and critical theory; examining and using methods of interpretation and analysis from the humanities and social sciences; evaluating the credibility of primary and secondary sources, including as it applies to media literacy, and for the purposes of academic research; situating discourses within their historical context and relevant to rhetorical theories of different periods (for example, Aristotle in the ancient world and Bakhtin in the twentieth century). The course format will include lecture, discussion, and both individual and group activities.
Prerequisite(s):

• BCIT ENGL 1177 or equivalent, or 6 credits BCIT Communication at 1100-level or above, or 3 credits of a university/college first-year social science or humanities course.

Forensic evidence is subject to all the general rules related to the admissibility of evidence in the criminal trial process and is also subject to certain unique rules of scrutiny. This course examines the fundamental laws of evidence within the adversarial process and provides a context for the expert in their role as witness.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 7001

This course is intended to develop advanced research and analytical skills. It will focus on the theory of inquiry; the logic, reality, and structure of investigative enquiry; and data analysis, methodologies of measurement models, and reporting of results. Emphasis will be placed on data-gathering and statistical techniques. You will be introduced to multivariate statistical analysis techniques, using SPSS for application in the law enforcement and forensics fields. Various models of measurement, including quantitative, qualitative and data-mining techniques with hands on data sets, will be covered. Groups will be required to prepare a mini research project using all the statistical applications covered in class.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course will introduce students to forensic issues related to mobile devices that may use cloud resources. Students will learn what data can be retrieved from a mobile device, and they will get hands-on experience using current tools to perform the extraction. Students will analyze this data and align it with records from network security providers to inform an investigation. Cloud resources will also be addressed using industry standard software. Technical and legal issues will be considered.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a forensic credential program or permission of the Program Head

Students will learn how to identify, collect, and preserve digital evidence with an emphasis on evidence collected from the Windows operating system. Topics include fundamental computer forensics principles, information extraction, legal issues, and challenges posed by variations in both data sources and devices. Students will use specialized forensic software to collect and use evidence in a forensically sound manner, to support an investigation. ​
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 7509

This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of network administration, with particular emphasis on network security monitoring. Students will learn fundamental concept related to the design of secure networks, including the deployment of security devices and sensors. Students will get hands-on experience in network traffic analysis, using packet sniffers and other network monitoring tools. Intrusion detection, attacks and defenses will be introduced to prepare students for more advanced courses in network security administration.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 7511

The course provides an introduction and an overview on planning and implementation of contingencies in case of a disaster. The course intends to familiarize students with technology focused on the business aspects related to disaster recovery planning and management.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

Students will learn advanced concepts in digital forensic analysis and investigation. The course will cover the investigation and response process from the focus of a computer forensics analyst. Topics include analysis of evidence from computers, networks, and mobile devices; event reconstruction; interpretation of digit evidence; and anti-forensic techniques, including encryption, steganography and rootkit hiding. Throughout this course, extensive hands-on exercises provide the students with practical experience in performing computer forensic investigation in the real world.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8513

This course covers advanced topics in network security and intrusion detection. In-depth coverage of perimeter protection and firewall designs. Advanced Intrusion Detection and IDS/IPS design and implementation. Students will be familiarized with network monitoring and security tools, and use them to perform traffic and IDS signature analysis, and network forensics. Also covered will be reverse engineering and machine code analysis techniques. These will be used to analyze malicious code and malware.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8540

This course is a study of prototyping security tools using high-level languages such as Ruby, Python, and Lua. Implementation of basic communication applications using the TCP/IP protocol suite will be introduced. Security applications that will be designed and implemented as part of the course will include packet sniffers, backdoors, logfile parsers, packet crafters, variety of spoofing applications, simple Intrusion Detection and Prevention systems. Also covered will be shell scripting techniques and implementation of shell-scripts to perform system-related tasks. As part of implementing defensive applications, students will also be introduced to basic Linux-based tools and utilities such as Netfilter, cron, etc.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 7511

Under the supervision of the graduation project research methodologist, faculty mentor(s), and industry subject matter expert, you will build upon the project concept initiated in FSCT7910 and complete a theoretical or applied independent research proposal. The course will focus on research themes relevant to your chosen areas of specialty in forensic investigation. You will conduct a comprehensive literature review, prepare a research design and protocol, validate the measurement model(s), conduct reliability and validity studies, and undertake a pilot study to ensure measurement instrument reliability. The research proposal should be innovative, experimental, or explanatory in nature to demonstrate the practical application of knowledge and skills. It should be comprehensive, covering all the operational aspects of the project and the measurement instrument to be employed. The research models employed and the research protocol followed will be well articulated and defined. This course will be focusing on building a foundation that leads to FSCT8621, Graduation Project 2.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 7910
• Completion of all framework courses and all specialty courses or permission of program coordinator.

The course provides an overview of the basic skills of a manager and applies these skills through a series of projects and case studies. It examines the evolution of management and the organizational culture and environment. It also teaches the decision-making skills and the skills involved in planning, organizing, leading and controlling, including planning and facilitating change, teamwork, applying motivational techniques and effective communication.
Prerequisite(s):

• No prerequisites are required for this course.

This course provides practice in written and oral communication skills used in forensic science and investigation careers. The emphasis is on explaining technical material in plain language and communicating investigation results in reports and presentations. The course also includes techniques for e-mails, letters, reports, and for making oral presentations. Students prepare a professional job application and LinkedIn profile and examine strategies for maintaining their online reputation as professionals.
Prerequisite(s):

• 6 credits of COMM 1100 level or above, or 3 credits of university/college writing course.

The course covers a wide range of topics from common vulnerabilities and tools that are used to exploit, to incident response and handling. Addresses theoretical and practical issues in malicious programs and scripts, stegonagraphy, worms and different types of network exploits and attacks.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8540

​In this capstone graduation course, under the supervision of the course instructor, you will implement the graduation project proposal developed in FSCT 8611. You will apply the chosen research methodology and collect the requisite data needed to answer the research questions of interest. At defined intervals, you must present in writing to the course instructor. At the end of the course, you will prepare a formal research paper (akin to a scientific publication), a research poster and an oral presentation. The poster and the presentation are expected to clearly highlight the research questions posed, the model of measurement utilized, data analysis, and key research findings.​
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8611

Fosters abilities and values required for ethical decision making at work. Develops skills in logical analysis, a working knowledge of moral principles and theories, and the ability to diagnose and resolve moral disagreements commonly found at work. Examines and applies moral principles to historically famous cases in manufacturing, human resources, management, engineering, health care, and computing.
Prerequisite(s):

• BCIT ENGL 1177, or 6 credits BCIT Communication at 1100-level or above, or 3 credits of a university/college first-year social science or humanities course.