Course Coordinator:Dennis Desmond (ddesmond@usc.edu.au) School:School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
In this online course, you will learn about the conduct of open source intelligence collection, and the measures used by criminals to conceal and obfuscate their online identities and activities. You will learn about useful software applications and tools, identity exploitation and techniques, online cyber tradecraft, markets and currencies: all integral skills in the development of a professional cyber investigator.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Online | |||
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – The tutorial is delivered through Zoom each week | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
| Online – Content is delivered through Sway and Blackboard plus outside readings | 5hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
| 1 |
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| 2 | OSINT collection techniques – Web exploitation | ||
| 3 | OSINT collection techniques - Online and automated tools | ||
| 4 | Identity management | ||
| 5 | Identity management | ||
| 6 | Identity management | ||
| 7 | OSINT collection techniques – Finding people | ||
| 8 | OSINT collection management | ||
| 9 | Introduction to online illicit markets | ||
| 10 | Introduction to online illicit markets | ||
| 11 | Introduction to online illicit marketplaces - Payment systems | ||
| 12 | Personal device management strategies | ||
| 13 | Device security |
700 Level (Specialised)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Plan a strategy to collect OSINT while maintaining operational security | Empowered |
| 2 | Apply open source collection techniques used by cyber investigators | Empowered |
| 3 | Develop online tradecraft skills to conceal intent and obfuscate your identity to facilitate online collection of investigatory information. | Empowered |
| 4 | Recognise and mitigate vulnerabilities In Identity data and Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs). | Empowered |
| 5 | Perform identify resolution to authenticate and differentiate online identities and analyse findings . | Creative and critical thinker |
| 6 | Detect illicit online behaviour | Knowledgeable |
| 7 | Communicate online investigatory findings and competencies | Engaged |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Enrolled in SC510, SC517 or SC704
SEC701
Not applicable
Students will be assumed to understand how the Internet operates and its role in society. They will be expected to have a working knowledge of computer systems and networks
Not applicable
Limited Grading (PNP)
Using marking rubrics, students will participate in continuous peer and self-assessment during tutorials
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | Individual | 2000 words equivalent |
Week 4 | Online Submission |
| All | 2 | Artefact - Technical and Scientific | Individual | 1,500 words equivalent |
Week 7 | Online Submission |
| All | 3 | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | Group | 3,000 words equivalent |
Refer to Format | Online Submission |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Digital Identity Portfolio | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate basic knowledge of search engines, search techniques, and the implications of online identity information. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | ||||||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Format: | This task will involve developing and mastering a number of basic online open source collection techniques while maintaining privacy and protecting personal data from being collected by adversaries. Students will provide a written assessment of their online presence using a template provided. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | |||||||||||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Collection Planning | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate your understanding in the development of an online collection plan and identifying the necessary resources and requirement to deliver an effective collection effort in support of organisation requirements. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Technical and Scientific | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will develop an online collection plan using a prepared template to identify the required resources and techniques to target and collect against a specific topic provided by the instructor or of your choosing. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | ||||||||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 3:Open Source Collection Management | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate mastery and understanding of open source intelligence collection while protecting personal data from adversarial collection. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Technical and Scientific, and Written Piece | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | You will produce evidence of your ability to identify sources of information, the tools and techniques needed to collect and harvest the information, analyse the results and report the findings. Submit: week 14 |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | ||||||||||||||||
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Bazzell, Michael | 2017 | Personal Digital Security | n/a | n/a |
| Required | Michael Bazzell | 2019 | Open Source Intelligence Techniques | 7th | Michael Bazzell |
| Required | Michael Bazzell | 2019 | Extreme Privacy | 1st | Michael Bazzell |
This is an online course and will require access to a personal computer with systems administrator rights, laptop or tablet and access to the Internet for at least 10 hours per week.
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.