CCJ 4931 SPECIAL TOPICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
REF # 5159
DIGITAL CRIME/DIGITAL TERRORISM
SUMMER 2011
COURSE TAUGHT COMPLETELY ONLINE
JOHN ORTIZ SMYKLA, PH.D.
JUSTICE STUDIES
DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR
EMAIL: JSMYKLA@UWF.EDU (ALLOW 24 HRS FOR REPLY)
PHONE: CELL - 205.862.4024 (NO CALLS AFTER 8 PM PLEASE)
NOTE: DO NOT LEAVE ANY MESSAGES ON MY OFFICE PHONE
OR NOTES IN MY OFFICE MAILBOX B/C I AM NOT ON CAMPUS.
MY GRADUATE ASSISTANT IS ADAM SCHLUER
EMAIL: as71@STUDENTS.UWF.EDU (ALLOW 24 HRS FOR REPLY)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Digital Crime/Digital Terrorism is an undergraduate, introductory course for
students with a beginning interest in studying crimes and terrorists acts
committed using digital technology. Course material is presented in a
nontechnical and nonjargon manner. The course covers four topic areas: (1) the
etiology of the digital crime and digital terrorism problem; (2) the various types of
crimes that are committed using digital technology; (3) the law, law enforcement,
and investigation of digital crime and digital terrorism; and (4) the prevention of
digital crime and digital terrorism and an overview of what the future might hold in
these areas.
REQUIRED TEXT:
Robert W. Taylor, Eric J. Fritsch, John Liederbach, and Thomas J. Holt, Digital
Crime and Digital Terrorism Second Edition (Boston, MA: Prentice Hall, 2011).
STUDENT LEANING OBJECTIVES:
1. Explain the etiology of the digital crime and digital terrorism problem
2. Illustrate the various types of crimes that are committed using digital
technology
3. Sketch the law, law enforcement, and investigation of digital crime and digital
terrorism
4. Predict the prevention of digital crime and digital terrorism and an overview of
what the future might hold in these areas.
TOPICS:
1. Descriptions of the types of crimes and terrorists acts committed using
computer technology
2. Criminological theories addressing hackers and other types of digital criminals
3. Types, nature, and extent of digital crimes (white-collar, viruses and codes,
sex crimes, obscenity, pornography, pedophilia, and child molestation)
4. Overview of the legal strategies and tactics targeting computer crime
5. Future of digital crime and terrorism
GRADING EVALUATION:
Quizzes: 60 points
Discussions: 70 points
Final Project: 50 points
167 - 180 A
162 - 166 A156 - 161 B+
149 - 155 B
144 - 148 B138- 143 C+
131 - 137 C
126 - 130 C120 - 125 D+
113 - 119 D
108 - 112 D< 108
F
IMPORTANT:
I reserve the right not to pass students who do not participate in
discussion postings, regardless of the scores they earn on the
examinations.
Weekly Quizzes:
There are six quizzes in the course. See the link "Schedule of What to Do and
When".
Each quiz covers only that week's two chapters. It is NOT a group quiz. Each
one of you completes his/her own quiz.
The quiz will be available online beginning 6 AM Saturdays and end 11:30 PM
Sundays.
Each quiz consists of 10 TF/MC questions. You will have 10 minutes to complete
each quiz.
Make sure you have Respondus LockDown Browser installed on your
computer. Make sure you upgrade to the latest version in order to access
the quizzes. You can download the software and reinstall it by going to the
"Software Downloads" link in your Argus Software tab. For Qs or concerns,
please contact the ITS HelpDesk at 850.474.2075. I call your attention to the
Expectations for Academic Conduct and Plagiarism Policy discussed below. I
realize the temptation to cheat when you are taking an online examination. The
quizzes are NOT open book. I hold you to the highest ethical standard when
completing the quizzes.
I compare your computer's IP address to all other students' IP addresses. I can
see exactly where and when you logged on, how long it took you to answer each
Q, when you logged off, and who your Internet provider is.
In a recent semester I caught three students all using the same IP
address. They took the exam one right after the other using the same
computer. I filed academic misconduct charges against all three and all three
failed the class. I do not need proof beyond a reasonable doubt, only reasonable
suspicion so don't do anything stupid that makes me think you cheated
Participation in Discussion Board:
You will be assigned to a small group of five students for the purposes of weekly
threaded discussions and completing a final project.
The topics of the weekly threaded discussions are shown in the link "Schedule of
What to Do and When".
The Discussion board opens every week at 1 am Mondays, and closes at 11:59
pm Fridays.
You must make a minimum of three (3) "thoughtful" and evenly spread out
postings.
By "thoughtful postings" I mean your postings must show evidence of (1) having
read BOTH chapters (each week you read two chapters); (2) critical thought
(Don't rehash the text or what the other person in your groups says. Instead
raise the bar on YOUR critical thinking skills; go beyond recalling data or
information from the chapters, and instead apply the knowledge, analyze it,
synthesize it, or evaluate it. Study up on Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains
to learn more about critical thinking. www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html);
(3) critique your peers; (4) respond to your peers when they raise
comments/issues about your postings.
By evenly-spread postings across the week I mean you make your first thoughtful
posting NLT 6 PM Tuesdays and then spread your other thoughtful postings
across the week.
In other words, you CANNOT post on Tuesday and then come back on Friday
and post two more times. Nor can you make all of your postings on Tuesday or
Wednesday. Get the point? Post evenly across the week.
You will earn 8 points for each week's discussion if you make your first thoughtful
post NLT Tuesday, 6 PM AND post the minimum of three times across the
week. More than three thoughtful and evenly spread postings can earn 9 or 10
points.
You will earn 7 points for each week's discussion if your first post appears after 6
PM Tuesday but before 6 PM Wednesday AND you make three or more evenly
spread thoughtful postings across the rest of the week.
You will earn 5 points for each discussion posting if your first post appears after 6
PM Tuesday but before 6 PM Thursday AND you make three or more evenly
spread thoughtful postings across the rest of the week.
You will earn 0 points if you post after 6 PM Thursday regardless of the number
or quality of your posts, or if you post less than the minimum regardless of when
you post.
Final Project:
You and the other members in your group will complete a final project. All of you
will receive the same grade so make sure all of you contribute meaningfully.
How do you do a project virtually with two other members? Easy. You talk by
phone. Maybe have a conference call. Use Skype. Telephone each other. Use
carrier pigeons. Send notes in a bottle - no, wait, oil balls from last April's spill
might mess that up. Get the point? Just share phone numbers and other contact
options with each other. Get in touch with each other early. I suggest starting
the project as soon as you get a good understanding of Chapter 1.
This is what you will do. You read in Chapter 1 that there are four types of
computer/digital crime. I want your group to select one of those. Discuss the
one you select. Research one good example of that crime. Describe what
happened - give details on the who, what, where, when, and how of it all. Report
details on the offender(s) and victim(s). What laws were broken? How was the
crime investigated? By whom? Where? How was it
prosecuted? Punished? Did anything change to prevent the crime from
occurring in the future? For example, was new legislation written? Was the
public educated via the media? A movie made abt it? And finally, select a
criminological theory from Chapter 3 that you think applies best to explain this
case. Explain your selection in detail. Feel free to bring in the knowledge you
gained from your criminology class as well. Make it fun for yourselves.
I will create a Dropbox for the final project. Final projects are due in the Dropbox
anytime the last week of class. The Dropbox will open Monday, August 1 at 1
AM and close Friday, August 5 at 11:30 PM.
Projects MUST be submitted in WORD or as a Rich Text File (rtf). NOT
WORDPERFECT. If any project is submitted in WordPerfect two things will
happen. First, an automatic 10 points will be deducted. Second, you will be sent
an email saying you submitted in WordPerfect and you will have 24 hours to
resubmit in either WORD or as a rtf file. If the resubmission is not received within
24 hours the paper will not be accepted.
The project MUST be word processed using Times New Roman, 12 font, and
double spaced.
Create text headings for interest. Make sure to proof read. Major deductions for
grammatical and spelling errors. Add a bibliography page citing the sources you
used, especially the online sources. Cite online sources something like this:
Jim Bounds, "Kevin Mitnick: The Most Notorious Hacker,"
www.webster.edu/philosophy/~umbaugh/courses/frosh/dairy/mitnick.htm
(accessed July 22, 2010).
If I can't locate your sources expect major deductions.
Make sure your project is NOT a copy and paste job. I will submit all papers to
turnitin.com. Any paper I find that is excessively a cut and paste job will receive
major deductions.
I want you to have fun with your paper. Be original and creative.
EXPECTATIONS FOR ACADEMIC CONDUCT/PLAGIARISM POLICY:
Academic Misconduct speaks to the integrity of student learning and
performance. The Student Code of Conduct addresses non-academic behavior
and provides a mechanism for the University to deal with inappropriate or illegal
behavior on the part of students. Disruptive behavior in an eLearning
environment, for example, would actually fall under this regulation.
The Student Code of Conduct sets forth the rules, regulations and expected
behavior of students enrolled at the University of West Florida. Violations of any
rules, regulations, or behavioral expectations may result in a charge of violating
the Student Code of Conduct. It is the student’s responsibility to read the Student
Code of Conduct and conduct themselves accordingly. You may access the
current Student Code of Conduct at http://uwf.edu/judicialaffairs.
As students enrolled in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies you should be held to
the highest standards. If your future professional endeavors include employment
within the criminal justice field you should know that your reputation is very
important and could play a key role in your job search. Please refer to the
Student Handbook for the University's policy regarding academic conduct,
specifically pages 23 through 31. These policies will be strictly adhered to and
enforced should the need arise.
Other important policies and sites:
* UWF Plagiarism Policy (Excellent examples of what constitutes plagiarism
available online from the Pace Library)
* You can view the latest edition of the Student Handbook on the website of
the Office of Judicial Affairs at http://uwf.edu/JudicialAffairs/
You can view the website of the Office of Judicial Affairs at
http://uwf.edu/JudicialAffairs/ for more on the student code of conduct and the
student handbook.
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:
The Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) works with students and faculty
to help make UWF an accessible learning environment in accordance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The
SDRC offers a variety of services for students with documented disabilities,
including learning disabilities, deaf/hard of hearing, blind/low vision, mobility
limitations, ADHD, psychiatric disorders, and medical disabilities. Contact
Student Disability Resource Center, 11000 University Parkway, Bldg 21/Room
130, Pensacola, FL 32514. Office: 850-474-2387 Fax: 850-857-6188 E-mail:
sdrc@uwf.edu
RESERVE/NATIONAL GUARD POLICY:
Per UWF's policy, to fulfill a reservist or National Guard military obligation of no
more than two weeks concurrent with a normal academic semester at UWF,
students must receive written permission for such absences from the instructors
and departmental chairpersons for each course in which they are enrolled. The
approval is not automatic but is discretionary with the instructors and
departmental chairpersons.
CHANGES IN COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Since all classes do not progress at the same rate, I may wish to modify the
requirements for this course or their timing as circumstances dictate. If I do so, I
will give you adequate notice.