Cyber Security: Essentials for Forensics

Macquarie University via Coursera Specialization

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Overview

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This Specialization brings together three industry-relevant courses Digital Forensics, Mobile Security, and AI for Cyber Security to provide you with a complete foundation in modern cyber investigations. You’ll explore the full lifecycle of forensic practice: from retrieving and preserving digital evidence to analysing complex data sets, reporting findings, and understanding the legal frameworks that govern admissibility in court. You’ll gain the skills to investigate cybercrime across networks, and mobile devices, learning how to extract and interpret artefacts from iOS and Android systems, identify hidden data, and uncover evidence of fraud, harassment, or malicious activity. The program also equips you with cutting-edge expertise in artificial intelligence, giving you hands-on experience applying machine learning models to malware detection, network anomaly analysis, and adversarial defence. This forward looking skillset prepares you to lead investigations in an era where AI is reshaping both attacks and defences. Developed by Macquarie University’s Cyber Skills Academy, a top 1% of university globally and recognised as Australia’s leading cyber security school. Every course is co-designed with experts and tailored to the realities of the cyber workforce. By the end, you’ll have the confidence and practical skills to contribute to forensic investigations, strengthen organisational resilience, and build a career at the frontlines of digital defence.

Syllabus

Course 1: Cyber Security: Digital Forensics
Course 2: Cyber Security: Mobile Security
Course 3: Cyber Security: Application of AI

Courses

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15 hours 6 minutes
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AI for Cyber Security: Defend Smarter, Not Harder Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are essential for modern cyber defense. This course provides a hands-on guide to understanding how AI and ML detect, disrupt, and defend against cyber threats. This program focuses on practical applications needed by organizations. Key topics include: • Build foundational AI and ML concepts, including model training, learning types, and accuracy. • Apply ML tools and models to security problems like malware analysis, fraud detection, and network monitoring. • Analyze network traffic using anomaly detection with supervised and unsupervised ML methods (e.g., k-nearest neighbors, one-class SVM). • Experiment with ML-driven analysis to identify malware and apply artificial neural networks for detection. • Understand adversarial machine learning, including poisoning and evasion attacks, and how to build resilient systems. Basic familiarity with Python programming is recommended for practical activities and labs. This course is designed for cyber security professionals, SOC analysts, engineers, data scientists, and tech leaders seeking to enhance security strategies with intelligent automation and machine-driven defense.
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13 hours 18 minutes
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Digital Forensics: Investigate. Recover. Protect. This course equips law enforcement professionals, IT analysts, cyber security specialists, and aspiring digital investigators with practical skills to extract and analyze critical evidence from digital systems. You will gain proficiency in the full forensic lifecycle, from identifying and preserving digital evidence to analyzing systems and preparing court-admissible findings. Developed by the Cyber Skills Academy at Macquarie University, a recognized cyber security school, this course is co-designed with industry experts. You will learn to: • Conduct digital investigations using defensible methods. • Recover files from Windows, Linux, and MacOS file systems. • Use forensic software tools for data acquisition and validation. • Capture and analyze volatile data from RAM and network traffic. • Extract evidence from mobile and IoT devices. • Navigate legal, ethical, and procedural standards in investigations. To succeed, learners should have basic computer literacy and familiarity with operating systems. This program prepares you to uncover digital truth and protect what matters.
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13 hours 42 minutes
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Mobile Security | Defend the Devices That Move the World Smartphones are no longer just communication tools—they’re digital vaults, business terminals, and personal ID cards all in one. And with every swipe, tap, and download, they’re becoming the new frontline of cyber risk. This course gives you the skills to secure, investigate, and defend the most pervasive technology in modern life. Protect the Pocket-Sized Threat Surface Developed by Macquarie University’s Cyber Skills Academy—ranked in the top 1% of universities globally and recognised as Australia’s leading cyber security school—this course has been co-designed with industry to reflect the fast-evolving realities of mobile threat landscapes, digital forensics, and enterprise security. You’ll gain deep technical knowledge and forensic capability across: • Mobile architecture fundamentals including iOS and Android OS, secure boot processes, and encryption systems. • File system analysis and the interpretation of mobile digital artifacts for forensic investigation. • The use of specialist tools like Autopsy, FTK, and debug environments to recover and analyse mobile data. • Evidence acquisition techniques that uphold integrity and are admissible in court—across memory, storage, and network traffic. • Deep static and runtime behavioural analysis of mobile applications to uncover hidden threats and trace user interactions. • Mobile device security mechanisms (e.g., authentication, encryption, anti-malware) and how attackers exploit them—and how to stop them. Forensically Ready. Security Smart. Legally Sound. This course is ideal for law enforcement personnel, digital forensic analysts, security professionals, and anyone working in threat detection, mobility, or enterprise IT. You’ll not only understand how mobile devices are targeted, but how to investigate them thoroughly—and secure them intelligently. Whether you’re building resilience into your organisation or preparing for mobile threat response, this course ensures you have the skills to defend what’s in every hand and pocket. Investigate with precision. Defend with confidence. Secure the mobile edge.