Learning Digital Forensics Through the Development of a Forensic Image Dataset and a Web Portal

In general, it can be accepted that digital forensics, as a part of forensic science, is a research-oriented discipline that requires a creative mindset and deep knowledge of computer systems. Creativity and knowledge enable investigators to always stay one step ahead of perpetrators of criminal offenses who use computer systems to commit crimes or when a computer contains evidence of traditional criminal activities. To encourage such a creative and investigative approach among students in the Digital Forensics course at the higher education institution, students were assigned the task of creating forensic images of simulated cases. These images were later exchanged and analyzed without prior knowledge of their authorship. Additionally, the goal of this approach was to establish a repository of forensic images at the higher education institution, which would be accessible to the broader educational and scientific community. At the end of the semester, an anonymous survey using a Likert scale was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the method. The results indicate that students perceive this approach as beneficial for understanding the methods and tools applied in digital investigations.