A postgraduate course in Computing and IT.

If a criminal or malicious employee stole data from your organisation, would you have the skills to detect it? Could you gather evidence that would allow you to recover losses in the courts or help the authorities prosecute a criminal case? Could you advise management on how to protect your organisation and mitigate loss? This course offers a sound initial grounding for those who will investigate forensic computing incidents. As well as practical work using real forensic computing tools, you’ll also learn the research skills necessary to keep up with changes in both the law and forensic computing research methodologies.

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What you will study

What are the proper ways to carry out an investigation in the digital domain? Security and adequate protection from intrusion or attack are important issues for everyone, from large corporations to individuals. Just as no one would consider leaving their doors and windows unlocked on their premises, firewall and anti-virus software have become the norm for IT systems of any size.

In M889, you will learn how to deal with situations where security measures have failed; or where some malicious activity has occurred, or is alleged to have occurred, involving computing equipment. You will develop an understanding of the necessary investigatory disciplines. You will also be introduced to key legislation applicable in England and Wales (the majority of which also applies in Scotland and Northern Ireland) and briefly examine relevant EU and International Law.

The course will provide some initial practical experience in using real computer forensic tools to investigate a problem. This will give you an opportunity to learn about the range of forensic artefacts we create in our modern digital life, such as web browsing, email and other activities. In addition, you will learn how to develop a forensic readiness program for an organisation, as well as how to critically evaluate forensic tools and keep up to date with new developments in computing forensics research. 

Vocational relevance

This course provides an introduction to the techniques of forensic computing. By completing the course, you will be both a technical and a management asset in almost any organisation, but you would need to complete further courses to become a fully qualified forensic technician or investigator.

Entry

There are no entry requirements, but we assume that you have already studied to HNC/HND level or have equivalent experience from your employment.

It is an advantage to have some experience working in an environment where information security is an issue. If you require any further information please contact the Postgraduate Technology and Computing Office (telephone +44 (0)115 971 5566, or email us).

You will be expected to be able to reboot a computer from a CD, which may require changing a BIOS setting, and to install and de-install hard disks. If you are unfamiliar with this, then you may need some help and advice for this part of the course. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

You do need to have a reasonable standard of spoken and written English to study successfully with us. Poor language skills will make study more difficult, and it will take longer. The normal requirements for English language skills are explained on our website.

If you have any doubts about whether your level of English is good enough for you to study this course you may find it helpful to look at our Skills for OU Study site.

Discount for Open University Graduates

If you are a graduate of The Open University (holding either an undergraduate or masters degree) you are eligible for a discount of £100 towards the cost of this course. You can claim this discount when you register, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Qualifications

M889 is an optional module in our:

• Postgraduate Certificate in Computing (C69)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Management (C49)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Computing for Commerce and Industry (C02)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Software Development (D69)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Technology Management (E08)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems (E10)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Management of Software Projects (E19)
• MSc in Computing for Commerce and Industry (F05)
• MSc in Information Systems (F37)
• MSc in Software Development (F26)
• MSc in Networks and Distributed Systems (F42)
• MSc in Management of Software Projects (F43)
• MSc in Technology Management (F36)

Some postgraduate qualifications allow study to be chosen from other subject areas. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this module can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.

If you have a disability

You will need to spend considerable amounts of time using a personal computer and the internet when studying M889. If you have a computer with screen reading and synthetic speech facilities, you will need to check that these will work with the study material and software well in advance of starting the course.

Study materials

What's included

M889 is presented fully online within the Open University’s virtual learning environment (VLE), which includes a dedicated website and optional online forums. There are no printed texts; all the materials you will need to undertake M889 will be available online from the website, although you will be sent a CD containing the course software, and another two disks with sample material for forensic examination and to complete the final assessment.

You will need

It would be extremely desirable to have access to a second low-spec PC (minimum 512 MB RAM) with a DVD-ROM drive to use as a test machine for forensic examinations. This would enable you to read study materials and compose assignments without having to reboot the computer you are using for testing.

Computing requirements

You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.

• If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
• If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
• If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.

You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You will have a tutor who will be responsible for monitoring your progress on the course, marking and commenting on your written work and whom you can contact for advice and guidance. There is usually a lively student online forum. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details can be found in the facts box above.

You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.

Professional recognition

BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT offers exemption from some of its membership requirements for holders of an appropriate MSc in Computing from The Open University. M889 can form part of such an MSc. For more details you can download our Recognition leaflet 3.7 Computing or ask our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for a copy. BCS regulations are on their website. 

Future availability

The details given here are for the final course start in May 2013. 

How to register

We regret that we are currently unable to accept registrations for this course. Where the course is to be presented again in the future, relevant registration information will be displayed on this page as soon as it becomes available.

Student Reviews

Distance learning

The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.

For more information about distance learning at the OU read Study explained.

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