[Linux-aus] Grant Application - Building the Open Source Talent Pipeline in Australia: A Cyber Forensics Student Extension Program

Fri Jun 23 10:17:08 AEST 2017

A courtesy note to advise that community feedback on this application
closed on 21 June - we didn't have time on our agenda last night to
assess this application, and it has been deferred to Council meeting 6th
July

Kind regards,

Kathy

On 07/06/17 10:13, Paul Watters via linux-aus wrote:
>
> 1. Project name 
>
> Building the Open Source Talent Pipeline in Australia: A Cyber
> Forensics Student Extension Program
>
>
> 2. Aim of the project, including any key stages or milestones of the
> project
>
> Research indicates that young people are genuinely interested in
> technology at an early age, but that negative experiences within a
> highly constrained curriculum, coupled with being taught (in many
> cases) by unqualified teachers, can led to disengagement. This is
> coupled with negative stereotypes portrayed in the media and popular
> culture around “nerds” and “geeks”; peer pressure to conform to social
> expectations and constructs discourages young people from technology
> careers, despite industry-identified “skills gaps” and high salaries.
> Finally, accessing technologies can be very expensive, and groups that
> face barriers to access (such as young people with a disability, or
> homeless students). Students may not be aware that there are
> alternatives to commercial, closed source technologies that are easily
> accessible, and which provide the freedom to create and contribute. 
>
> The aim of this project is to create an open source forensics
> educational engagement programme in Victoria, that is aligned with the
> digital literacy VCE syllabus. The project seeks to re-engage students
> in senior years using the “CSI Effect”; particularly with the
> publicity given to cyber attacks linked to closed source / proprietary
> technologies, this is an excellent opportunity to embed open source
> values early in learning. Especially in the security field, rigorous
> peer review and critique leads to the best solutions, rather than
> relying on secrecy and obscurity.  
>
> The engagement programme will not seek to replace anything taught on
> the curriculum, but instead focus on fun, topical and engaging
> experiences, that may stimulate and motivate students to consider
> cyber security as a career. The programme will only use open source
> forensics tools, but will reveal how closed source technologies can be
> subjected to physical examination.
>
> While the project team will contribute their time as an in-kind
> contribution to the project, funding is sought to purchase a range of
> typical hardware devices to physically examine, and create forensic
> use cases for. This will give students who take the programme some
> hands-on experience with real-world technologies, using open source
> tools. Students will also be shown how an open source forensics
> toolkit can be extended as needed.
>
> The programme will comprise a set of four learning activities,
> designed to be undertaken over 4 x 1 hour sessions, ideally suited to
> an “incursion” or workshop run at a school. The hardware devices will
> be made available free of charge to all schools in Victoria: schools
> will only be asked to pay for shipping costs to borrow the equipment.
> All educational materials developed through the programme will be
> released under a Creative Commons license. The project team hopes that
> this will encourage law enforcement and private sector security teams
> to contribute further use cases and data to improve the programme.
>
> To develop the programme, a four-stage project plan is envisaged:
>
>  
>
> Stage 1: Learning activity design (100 Hours)
>
> In this stage, the four learning activities will be designed to match
> typical cyber forensic tasks, including evidence acquisition, timeline
> analysis, media analysis, and data recovery. Students will also be
> encouraged to compile a report based on their results.
>
>  
>
> Stage 2: Forensic use case identification (50 Hours)
>
> In this stage, the four learning activities will be mapped to typical
> use cases, including fraud, scams, malware infection and counter
> terrorism investigations. The project team shall liaise with law
> enforcement, as appropriate, to create these use cases, and make them
> as interesting and realistic as possible.
>
>  
>
> Stage 3: Software selection (50 Hours)
>
> In this stage, a range of open source forensic toolkits will be
> obtained and tested to see whether they can meet the requirements of
> the use cases. Well-known packages, including Autopsy and the Sleuth
> Kit, will be obtained, as well as specialized packages for iOS
> forensics, including Logical iOS Forensic Examiner (LIFE).
>
>  
>
> Stage 4: Hardware purchase and use cases realized (100 Hours)
>
> The equipment requested in this application will be purchased, and
> data relating to the use cases will be created and imaged. These
> images will be uploaded to the hardware devices.
>
>  
>
> Assuming a starting date of 1^st  July 2017, and spending 10 hours per
> week, the project should be developed by September 9^th  2017. We will
> then communicate the availability of the programme through appropriate
> channels, such as the La Trobe University career advisor mailing list,
> and Quantum Victoria. 
>
>  
>
> 3. How the success of the project will be measured 
>
> We will create a self-report survey for students to take before and
> after the activity, and measure whether their awareness of open source
> has increased, and whether or not they would consider cyber security
> as a career choice. We will seek ethics approval before administering
> any questionnaires to students.
>
>  
>
> 4. Estimated cost breakdown of the project, including any materials,
> projects or online services that are required to deliver the project.
> The cost breakdown should include estimates of labour costs and/or
> professional services
>
> The hardware devices requested represent a range of typical forensic
> use cases, including Android phones and Linux servers (RedHat and
> Debian), as well as Raspberry pi kits for network forensics. Some
> basic forensic kits, required for data capture and transfer, will also
> be requested. Two sets of equipment are requested, so that the teacher
> can use one for demonstration, and one is available for students to
> use at the same time. 
>
>  
>
> In-kind contribution (200 Hours x $118ph = $23,755 + GST = $26,130)
>
>  
>
> Equipment requested:
>
> ·      Forensicstore.com <http://forensicstore.com> – Cellphone
> companion kit, including faraday pouch, cables, media etc x 2= $612
>
> ·      Dell PowerEdge T130 with Linux x 2 = $3,092
>
> ·      Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime x 2 = $798
>
> ·      Ultimate Raspberry Pi Kit x 2 = $478
>
>  
>
> Total Requested: $4,980
>
>  
>
> Linux Australia contribution to total project cost: 19.05%
>
>  
>
> 5. The project team, their credentials and professional capabilities,
> especially their history of open source, open data, open hardware or
> open culture contributions 
>
> Dr Paul A. Watters is Associate Professor in Cyber Security at La
> Trobe University. Dr Watters has been using Linux for 24 years, having
> first installed in on 360K floppies on an XT. Dr Watters has written
> several books on Linux and open source topics, as well as releasing
> open source packages for neural network modeling and fractal analysis.
> He has published numerous papers on cyber forensics, and is working
> with Quantum Victoria to deliver Australia’s first “cyber games”,
> targeting high school students who may be interested in pursuing cyber
> security as a career.
>
>  
>
> Maya F. Watters is a Leading Teacher at Bacchus Marsh College. Ms
> Watters studied education at the University of Melbourne, and
> forensics at the University of Auckland. She has worked on a number of
> forensic projects for Cyber Inc, a not-for-profit incorporated
> association in Victoria. 
>
>  
>
> 6. Person responsible for project
>
> Dr. Watters will be the project manager and will have overall
> responsibility. 
>
>  
>
> 7. A statement including a willingness to provide regular project
> updates on the project
>
> The project team shall provide updates to Linux Australia at each
> phase of the project.
>
>
> —
> Dr Paul A. Watters FBCS SMIEEE CITP
> Associate Professor in Cybersecurity                |  Adjunct
> Professor in Computing
> La Trobe University                                 |  Unitec
> Institute of Technology
> CRICOS Provider Code 00115M
> E:  <P.Watters at latrobe.edu.au <mailto:P.Watters at latrobe.edu.au>> P:
> +61-3-9479-3415
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Kathy Reid
President
Linux Australia

0418 130 636

president at linux.org.au
http://linux.org.au

Linux Australia Inc
GPO Box 4788
Sydney NSW 2001
Australia

ABN 56 987 117 479 

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