Ontology Based Model of Digital Forensic Virtual Lab and Curriculum Design

Abstract

Digital forensics (DF) is a discipline that uses investigative methods to find digital evidence and prepare it for legal proceedings in computer crime cases. Since this is a relatively new teaching subject in higher education institutions, syllabi and curricula are not yet standardized. In this paper we present an ontological approach to DF curriculum design, and discuss its implementation in a virtual digital forensic laboratory. The virtual educational environment is designed for the generic study of digital forensics, and is based on ontology and a composite-component approach. Basic components of our virtual DF are objects to be related, put into new compositions and placed in a library; relationships between all of the components are defined in ontology. Based on gathered experience, we designed and described DF curricula for undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. studies that are tailored to our needs, but at the same time can be used as the starting point for introducing digital forensics courses at universities.