0 or 3 credits
Fall 2026 Lecture Laboratory Upper Division
This course introduces the fundamentals of digital forensics as applied to modern computing environments. Students learn how to identify, acquire, preserve, analyze, and report on digital evidence while maintaining forensic integrity and legal admissibility. Emphasis is placed on the role of digital forensics in criminal and civil investigations as well as in incident response. Students gain hands-on experience using industry-standard tools and techniques for imaging and examining storage media, recovering deleted files, interpreting file system and operating system artifacts, validating findings, and producing forensic reports.
Learning Outcomes1Identify common sources and types of digital evidence across computing environments.
2Preserve and acquire digital evidence with forensically sound methods that ensure integrity and admissibility.
3Analyze and interpret digital evidence using a multiple-tool approach to identify relevant artifacts, validate results, and reconstruct events.
4Document and communicate findings in a forensic report suitable for criminal, civil, or corporate contexts.
Prerequisites
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.