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SCIA 472 — Hacking Exposed & Incident Response

Department of Computer Science & Information Technology
Frostburg State University · Spring 2026 · Instructor: Dr. Chen
Co-requisite: COSC 331

Course Overview

This course delivers a rigorous, hands-on exploration of modern offensive and defensive cybersecurity. Students examine the complete lifecycle of real-world attacks — from initial reconnaissance through full compromise — and develop the skills to detect, contain, and recover from security incidents using industry-standard frameworks and tools.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Perform structured ethical hacking assessments of networks, systems, and web applications
  • Identify, analyze, and exploit common vulnerabilities using professional penetration testing tools
  • Apply the NIST and SANS incident response frameworks to real-world security events
  • Conduct digital forensics and evidence collection following chain-of-custody procedures
  • Design and evaluate countermeasures against modern attack techniques
  • Analyze historical breach case studies and extract actionable defensive lessons

Course Objectives

# Objective
CO1 Demonstrate ethical hacking methodology using industry frameworks (PTES, OWASP, NIST)
CO2 Execute network reconnaissance, scanning, and enumeration using professional tools
CO3 Identify and exploit vulnerabilities in systems and web applications in lab environments
CO4 Assess wireless network security and simulate common wireless attacks
CO5 Implement the full incident response lifecycle using NIST SP 800-61
CO6 Perform basic malware analysis and identify indicators of compromise
CO7 Apply digital forensics techniques and maintain evidence integrity
CO8 Communicate findings through professional penetration testing reports

15-Week Reading Schedule

Week Topic Objectives Focus Area
Week 1 Ethical Hacking Foundations & the Cyber Kill Chain CO1 🎯 Foundations
Week 2 Reconnaissance & Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) CO2 🔍 Recon
Week 3 Network Scanning & Enumeration CO2 🌐 Scanning
Week 4 Vulnerability Assessment CO1, CO2 🔬 Analysis
Week 5 Exploitation Fundamentals & Metasploit CO3 💥 Exploitation
Week 6 Web Application Attacks (OWASP Top 10) CO3 🌍 Web Security
Week 7 Wireless Network Security & Attacks CO4 📡 Wireless
Week 8 Password Attacks & Credential Exploitation CO3 🔑 Credentials
Week 9 Social Engineering & Phishing CO1, CO3 🎭 Social Eng.
Week 10 Post-Exploitation & Lateral Movement CO3 🕵️ Post-Exploit
Week 11 Malware Analysis Fundamentals CO6 🦠 Malware
Week 12 Incident Response — Preparation & Detection CO5 🚨 IR Phase I
Week 13 Incident Response — Containment, Eradication & Recovery CO5 🛡️ IR Phase II
Week 14 Digital Forensics Fundamentals CO7 🔎 Forensics
Week 15 Real-World Case Studies & Capstone Review CO1–CO8 📋 Capstone

Core Textbooks & Resources

Primary References

  • Hacking Exposed 7 — McClure, Scambray, Kurtz (McGraw-Hill)
  • The Web Application Hacker's Handbook, 2nd Ed. — Stuttard & Pinto
  • The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Ed. — Jon Erickson
  • NIST SP 800-61 Rev. 2 — Computer Security Incident Handling Guide (free, NIST.gov)
  • SANS Reading Room — whitepapers.sans.org

Essential Tools Covered

nmap · Metasploit · Burp Suite · Wireshark · Aircrack-ng · John the Ripper / Hashcat · Volatility · Autopsy · Maltego · theHarvester

Assessment Structure

Lab Reports          30%   (weekly hands-on exercises)
Midterm Exam         20%   (Weeks 1–7)
Penetration Test     25%   (team-based, Weeks 10–14)
Incident Response    15%   (tabletop exercise, Week 13)
Final Exam           10%   (comprehensive)

Navigate to any week using the table above or the sidebar.