The Development of Digital Forensics Workforce Competency on the Example of Estonian Defence League

03.07.2014 kehtestati Vabariigi Valitsuse määrus nr. 108, mis reguleerib Kaitseliidu kaasamise tingimusi ja korda küberjulgeoleku tagamisel. Seega võivad Kaitseliidu küberkaitse üksuse (KL KKÜ edaspidi KKÜ) kutsuda olukorda toetama erinevad asutused: näiteks Riigi Infosüsteemide amet (RIA), infosüsteemi järelevalveasutus või kaitseministeerium või selle valitsemisala ametiasutused oma ülesannete raames. KKÜ-d saab kaasata info- ja sidetehnoloogia infrastruktuuri järjepidevuse tagamisel, turvaintsidentide kontrollimisel ja lahendamisel, rakendades nii aktiivseid kui passiivseid meetmeid. KKÜ ülesannete kaardistamisel täheldati, et KKÜ partnerasutused / organisatsioonid ei ole kaardistanud oma spetsialistide olemasolevaid pädevusi ja sellele lisaks puudub ülevaade digitaalse ekspertiisi kogukonnas vajaolevatest pädevustest. Leitut arvesse võttes seati ülesandeks vajadustest ja piirangutest (võttes arvesse digitaalse ekspertiisi kogukonda kujundavaid standardeid) ülevaatliku pildi loomine, et töötada välja digitaalse ekspertiisi kompetentsipõhine raamistik, mis toetab KKÜ spetsialistide arendamist palkamisest pensionini. Selleks uurisime KKÜ ja nende olemasolevate koolitusprogrammide hetkeolukorda ning otsustasime milliseid omadusi peab edasise arengu tarbeks uurima ja kaaluma. Võrreldavate tulemuste saa-miseks ja eesmärgi täitmiseks pidi koostatav mudel olema suuteline lahendama 5-t järgnevat ülesannet: 1. Oskuste kaardistamine, 2. Eesmärkide seadmine ja ümberhindamine, 3. Koolituskava planeerimine, 4. Värbamisprotsessi kiirendamine ning 5. Spetsialistide kestva arengu soodustamine. Raamistiku väljatöötamiseks võeti aluseks National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NICE Framework) pädevusraamistik mida parendati digitaalse ekspertiisi spetsialistide, ja käesoleval juhul ka KKÜ, vajadusi silmas pidades. Täiendusi lisati nii tasemete, spetsialiseerumise kui ka ülesannete kirjelduste kujul. Parenduste lisamisel võeti arvesse töös tutvustatud digitaalse ekspertiisi piiranguid ja standardeid, mille lõpptulemusena esitati KKÜ-le Digitaalse Ekspertiisi Pädevuse ontoloogia, KKÜ struktuuri muudatuse ettepanek, soovitatavad õpetamisstrateegiad digitaalse ekspertiisi kasutamiseks (muudetud Bloomi taksonoomia tasemetega), uus digitaalse ekspertiisi standardi alajaotus – Mehitamata Süsteemide ekspertiis ja Digitaalse Ekspertiisi Pädevuse Mudeli Raamistik. Ülesannete ja oskuste loetelu koostati rahvusvaheliselt tunnustatud sertifitseerimis-organisatsioonide ja erialast pädevust pakkuvate õppekavade abil. Kavandatava mudeli hindamiseks kasutati mini-Delphi ehk Estimate-Talk-Estimate (ETE) tehnikat. Esialgne prognoos vajaduste ja prioriteetidega anti KKÜ partnerasutustele saamaks tehtud töö kohta ekspertarvamusi. Kogu tagasisidet silmas pidades tehti mudelisse korrektuurid ja KKÜ-le sai vormistatud ettepanek ühes edasise tööplaaniga. Üldiselt kirjeldab väljapakutud pädevusraamistik KKÜ spetsialistilt ooda-tavat pädevuse ulatust KKÜ-s, et suurendada nende rolli kiirreageerimisrühmana. Raamistik aitab määratleda digitaalse ekspertiisi eeldatavaid pädevusi ja võimekusi praktikas ning juhendab eksperte spetsialiseerumise valikul. Kavandatud mudeli juures on arvestatud pikaajalise mõjuga (palkamisest pensionini). Tulenevalt mudeli komplekssusest, on raamistikul pikk rakendusfaas – organisatsiooni arengule maksimaalse mõju saavutamiseks on prognoositud ajakava maksimaalselt 5 aastat. Antud ettepanekud on käesolevaks hetkeks KKÜ poolt heaks kiidetud ning planeeritud kava rakendati esmakordselt 2019 aasta aprillikuus.In 03.07.2014 Regulation No. 108 was introduced which regulates the conditions and pro-cedure of the involvement of the Estonian Defence League (EDL) Cyber Defence Unit (CDU) in ensuring cyber security. This means that EDL can be brought in by the Information System Authority, Ministry of Defence or the authorities of its area of government within the scope of either of their tasks e.g. ensuring the continuity of information and communication technology infrastructure and in handling and solving cyber security incidents while applying both active and passive measures. In January 2018 EDL CDU’s Digi-tal Evidence Handling Group had to be re-organized and, thus, presented a proposal for internal curriculum in order to further instruct Digital Evidence specialists. While describing the CDU's tasks, it was noted that the CDU's partner institutions / organizations have not mapped out their specialists’ current competencies. With this in mind, we set out to create a comprehensive list of needs and constraints (taking into account the community standards of DF) to develop a DF-based competence framework that supports the devel-opment of CDU professionals. Hence, we studied the current situation of CDU, their existing training program, and contemplated which features we need to consider and ex-plore for further development. In order to assemble comparable results and to achieve the goal the model had to be able to solve the 5 following tasks: 1. Competency mapping, 2. Goal setting and reassessment, 3. Scheduling the training plan, 4. Accelerating the recruitment process, and 5. Promoting the continuous development of professionals. The frame-work was developed on the basis of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (NICE Framework), which was revised to meet the needs of DF specialists, including EDL CDU. Additions were supplemented in terms of levels, specialization, and job descriptions. The proposals included the DF limitations and standards introduced in the work, which ultimately resulted in a proposal for a Digital Forensics Competency ontology, EDL CDU structure change, Suggested Instruc-tional Strategies for Digital Forensics Use With Each Level of revised Bloom's Taxonomy, a new DF standard subdivision – Unmanned Systems Forensics, and Digital Forensic Competency Model Framework. The list of tasks and skills were compiled from international certification distribution organizations and curricula, and their focus on DF Special-ist Competencies. Mini-Delphi or Estimate-Talk-Estimate (ETE) techniques were applied to evaluate the proposed model. An initial estimation of competencies and priorities were given to the EDL CDU partner institutions for expert advice and evaluation. Considering the feedback, improvements were made to the model and a proposal was put forward to the CDU with a future work plan. In general, the proposed competence framework describes the expected scope of competence of an DF specialist in the EDL CDU to enhance their role as a rapid response team. The framework helps in defining the expected compe-tencies and capabilities of digital forensics in practice and offers guidance to the experts in the choice of specialization. The proposed model takes into account the long-term effect (hire-to-retire). Due to the complexity of the model, the framework has a long implementation phase — the maximum time frame for achieving the full effect for the organization is expected to be 5 years. These proposals were approved by EDL CDU and the proposed plan was first launched in April 2019

How can the teaching of programming be used to enhance computational thinking skills?

The use of the term computational thinking, introduced in 2006 by Jeanette Wing, is having repercussions in the field of education. The term brings into sharp focus the concept of thinking about problems in a way that can lead to solutions that may be implemented in a computing device. Implementation of these solutions may involve the use of programming languages.This study explores ways in which programming can be employed as a tool to teach computational thinking and problem solving. Data is collected from teachers, academics, and professionals, purposively selected because of their knowledge of the topics of problem solving, computational thinking, or the teaching of programming. This data is analysed following a grounded theory approach. A Computational Thinking Taxonomy is developed. The relationships between cognitive processes, the pedagogy of programming, and the perceived levels of difficulty of computational thinking skills are illustrated by a model.Specifically, a definition for computational thinking is presented. The skills identified are mapped to Bloom’s Taxonomy: Cognitive Domain. This mapping concentrates computational skills at the application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation levels. Analysis of the data indicates that the less difficult computational thinking skills for beginner programmers are generalisation, evaluation, and algorithm design. Abstraction of functionality is less difficult than abstraction of data, but both are perceived as difficult. The most difficult computational thinking skill is reported as decomposition. This ordering of difficulty for learners is a reversal of the cognitive complexity predicted by Bloom’s model. The plausibility of this inconsistency is explored.The taxonomy, model, and the other results of this study may be used by educators to focus learning onto the computational thinking skills acquired by the learners, while using programming as a tool. They may also be employed in the design of curriculum subjects, such as ICT, computing, or computer science

A Framework for Delivering Contextually Appropriate Opportunities for Warfighter Practice

Computer-based modeling and simulation has been a training staple in the military domain since the first aircraft simulators were adopted. More recently, virtual environments based on modeling, simulation and serious games, have introduced relatively low-cost, yet high value additions to the learning environment. As these virtual environments have proliferated, many researchers have investigated the relationship between theoretical foundations of learning, learner development and content delivery, and applied their findings in an attempt to bolster learning, yet performance deficiencies continue to exist. This study asserts that performance deficiencies exist in part because of insufficient contextually appropriate opportunities to practice. This work is multi-disciplinary in nature. Its foundation is modeling and simulation engineering; the use of technology to deliver training. Educational psychology and human factors concepts explain the theoretical basis for modeling and simulation as an effective training delivery agent. The study\u27s thesis is that a framework for delivering contextually appropriate opportunities for warfighter practice can be applied to discover whether modeling, simulation and game-based virtual environments have the potential to improve individual performance for learners beyond the Novice Stage (e.g., Competent Stage) of skills acquisition. Furthermore, this conceptually appropriate practice (CAP) framework can be used to assess the potential of low fidelity virtual environments to provide targeted practice and to improve individual performance, not only during training in high-fidelity virtual environments (near transfer) but also in the live environment (far transfer). To evaluate the thesis, this study investigates the relationship of technology and learning science, and features an empirical evaluation of training effectiveness afforded by delivering additional training repetitions using both low-fidelity virtual environment simulator systems and high-fidelity aircraft simulators

BlockNet Report: Exploring the Blockchain Skills Concept and Best Practice Use Cases

In order to explore the practical potential and needs of interdisciplinary knowledge and competence requirements of Blockchain technology, the project activity "Development of Interdisciplinary Blockchain Skills Concept" starts with the literature review identifying the state of the art of Blockchain in Supply Chain Management and Logistics, Business and Finance, as well as Computer Science and IT-Security. The project activity further explores the academic and industry landscape of existing initiatives in education which offer Blockchain courses. Moreover, job descriptions and adverts are analyzed in order to specify today's competence requirements from enterprises. To discuss and define the future required competence, expert workshops are organized to validate the findings by academic experts. Based on the research outcome and validation, an interdisciplinary approach for Blockchain competence is developed. A second part focuses on the development of the Blockchain Best Practices activity while conducting qualitative empirical research based on case studies with industry representatives. Therefore, company interviews, based on the theoretical basis of Output 1, explore existing Blockchain use cases in different sectors. Due to the interdisciplinary importance of Blockchain technology, these skills will be defined by different perspectives of Blockchain from across multiple mentioned disciplines. The use cases and companies for the interviews will be selected based on various sampling criteria to gain results valid for a broad scale. The analysis of the various use cases will be conducted and defined in a standardized format to identify the key drivers and competence requirements for Blockchain technology applications and their adoption. On the one hand, this approach ensures comparability, on the other hand, it facilitates the development of a structured and systematic framework.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2102.0322

Measuring the effectiveness of enterprise resource planning education on business process comprehension

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel UniversityEnterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) are very large and complex software packages that run every aspect of an organization. Increasingly, ERP systems are used in higher education to teach business processes, essential knowledge for students competing in today’s business environment. Past research attempting to measure learning business processes with ERP has been inconclusive and lacking in rigor. This dissertation contains a comprehensive research study that uses a critical realist approach to measure business process learning from experiential ERP. Using a business simulation game as a proxy for understanding business processes, students from (1) a US undergraduate program in three separate classes, one using ERP experientially, and (2) two UK postgraduate programs, one experiencing ERP and one not, are assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The data analysis results in a causal mechanism for learning, complemented by a list that trigger or suppress that mechanism in particular cases. The results validate the efforts of those using ERP in the classroom, and reaffirm other educational business school endeavors, with educational implications as follows. First, before attempting to learn business processes, students must know about business in order to enable them to learn this complex topic. Second, experiencing ERP systems indeed helps students understand business processes, with a cohesive curriculum integrating ERP benefitting students the most and students at the postgraduate level learning more deeply. Third, students are using the knowledge gained in university classes to make business decisions. Fourth, students should be encouraged to use all information possible for making business decisions instead of relying on their personal understanding of today’s current market, relying on their own business intuition or work experience. Last, teaching methods may need to be adjusted for postgraduates, especially those coming into programs with significant work experience

Aspects of spatial thinking in geography textbook questions

This study examined questions embedded in four high school world geography textbooks to evaluate the degree to which the three components of spatial thinking were incorporated: concepts of space, tools of representation, and processes of reasoning. A three-dimensional taxonomy of spatial thinking to assess the questions was developed and validated via a survey of a group of spatial thinking experts. The spatiality of the concepts featured in 3,010 questions sampled from the textbooks was analyzed. The degree to which spatial representations and stimuli for reasoning were presented was also measured. Every question was compared against the taxonomy and coded. Inter-coder reliability was measured on about one percent of the sample questions. The results indicated that most questions that required knowledge about spatial concepts could be answered by knowing only simple concepts, such as location and place-specific identity, rather than complex concepts that require the identification of spatial patterns and associations. Not many questions asked students to incorporate spatial representations to answer the questions. Few questions did require creating a new representation. Students were asked to recall memorized geographic knowledge and terms rather than to infer, hypothesize, and generalize. Little difference was found among the four textbooks in that they rarely integrated the three components of spatial thinking into the questions. The research found that page-margin questions involved aspects of spatial thinking more than section- and chapter-assessment questions. Relatively simple concepts and lower level cognitive processes, however, were required in most questions that integrated the three components. The development of questions to help students practice complex processes of spatial thinking is necessary. The taxonomy developed in this research can be used as a guide to design curricular, instructional materials, and questions that incorporate aspects of spatial thinking

Multiple intelligences in the classroom

This qualitative study was designed to examine teacher feedback concerning the application of multiple intelligence methods in their classroom. The study found the theory of multiple intelligences was being implemented throughout the curriculum and students were maintaining an evident level of engagement; in turn teachers found it to be a useful intructional method

Teachers' use of resources for mathematics teaching: The case of teaching trigonometry.

This paper draws on the documentational approach and knowledge quartet to analyse a trigonometry Year 13 lesson of a secondary mathematics teacher who uses a range of paper based and electronic resources. Data were collected during one lesson observation and a follow-up interview with the teacher. Analysis identifies the resources and schemes of use of these resources: aims of the teaching activity, rules of actions, operational invariants and inferences in relation to the trigonometry lesson but also in relation to Year 13 teaching, especially towards student preparation for the exams. It also explores this teacher’s work in the class by using the different dimensions of the knowledge quartet: foundation, transformation, connection and contingency. The findings explore teacher’s use of resources and the potencies of using the knowledge quartet in tandem with the documentational approach

Attuning to the mathematics of difference: Haptic constructions of number.

CAPTeaM develops and trials activities that Challenge Ableist Perspectives on the Teaching of Mathematics. The project involves teachers and researchers from the UK and Brazil in reflecting upon the practices that enable or disable the participation of disabled learners in mathematics. In this paper, we focus on two themes that emerged from data analyses generated in the first phase of the study: deconstructing the notion of the normal mathematics student/classroom and attuning mathematics teaching strategies to student diversity. Here, we address these themes through exemplifying participants’ haptic constructions of number in the context of a multiplication task in terms of four strategies they devise: “counting fingers”; “tracing the sum”; “negotiating signs to indicate place value”; “decomposing”