Executive ProposalIn this project, you will research and evaluate mobile forensics-related software and write a
proposal for review by the chief information officer (CIO) of a company. In completing this
project, you’ll gain practical knowledge of the mobile forensic evaluation process as well as of the
processes involved in writing a persuasive proposal. This project will help you to identify and
understand standards and practices in mobile forensics, as well as the information that should be
conveyed in a proposal.
This project is due at the end of week 7.
Project Requirements
Prepare a 5–7-page executive proposal for the Done Right Accounting Company (DRAC). You
must persuade the company’s upper management to approve the purchase of a mobile forensic
tool.
For more information on DRAC, read the case study below.
This proposal requires you to do the following:
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Research and evaluate a forensic tool to be used to investigate incidents involving mobile
devices and to be added to the list of acceptable applications used by the digital forensics
team. Here are some tips for researching the tool:
o Select a tool you learned about in class or heard about elsewhere.
o Use a vendor’s website to gather information about the tool. Also look at thirdparty reviews, case studies, and customer feedback.
o Integrate your research with your own experiences. You can draw from class
exercises to do this.
o Analyze your findings so as to determine whether or not the tool would be
beneficial in the investigation of cyberincidents. Consider the company’s needs
and make sure the tool you have chosen is the best tool for the company’s
purposes. You may want to research a few tools before making a final decision.
Provide a detailed summary of the purpose and benefits of the tool you chose. Describe
the software so that the CIO can understand what the tool does and why you are
recommending it to the company.
Provide information on cost. In your cost estimate, include all additional costs, such as
for software management (e.g., updates and upgrades) and training.
Use at least three authoritative outside sources (note that anonymous authors and nonvetted entities such as Wikipedia are not acceptable). Use at least one third-party
endorsement and one case study (not the one below).
Cite all sources used. See the syllabus regarding plagiarism policies.
Provide a References page at the end of the proposal that gives full references of the
sources you cited.
Conform to American Psychological Association (APA) standards. See the writing
guidelines in the classroom for further guidance.
Case Study
Done Right Accounting Company (DRAC) Background
The Done Right Accounting Company (DRAC), located in Baltimore, Maryland, is a small
company that offers accounting services primarily to small to midsize companies, although it has
some individual clients.
The company is successful even with a great deal of competition. To set itself apart from similar
organizations, DRAC has started offering what it calls Convenient Accounting Right Away,
or CARA. CARA is a service offered for a small fee to both business and individual clients. Those
who sign up for CARA have the luxury of having an accountant on call to visit their place of work
or home at any time to process documents and/or discuss financial matters. CARA became a
popular service as soon as it was offered. Over 80 percent of the company’s clients have signed
on, even though CARA has been available for only three months.
Because of CARA, DRAC’s accountants are now completing many of their accounting tasks at
remote locations.
Each accountant has been assigned both a company-owned laptop and a cell phone. The
accounting software used by DRAC is compatible with both the Windows and the Macintosh
operating systems. Because of this, each accountant has a choice of using either a Windows or a
Macintosh laptop. Each also has the choice of using an Android cell phone or an iPhone.
Because of the small size of the company and the strict policies and procedures that it upholds, it
has experienced few forensic investigations. However, there have been some cases in which
advanced data recovery or data carving technology could have been used to recover data that
was accidentally deleted.
The owner of the company, Mr. George L. Smith, has a strong desire to keep DRAC financially
healthy. He is hesitant to invest in equipment and technology that he does not understand.
Although the CIO, Mrs. Jennifer Anson, is familiar with current technology, she has a hard time
convincing Mr. Smith to invest in new forms of IT. Two years ago, Mr. Smith reluctantly agreed
to invest in a small digital forensics’ lab. The tools and equipment used by this lab are primarily
associated with traditional desktop forensics. Up until now, Mr. Smith has been convinced that
these types of tools should work on tablets and cell phones. Your proposal will give Mrs. Anson
the information she needs to persuade Mr. Smith to invest in a new tool.
Your Role
You are the manager of the PC and Security Support (PASS) department at DRAC and are in
charge of configuring and supporting all the IT equipment used by the staff. You specialize in
data recovery techniques and have been researching the operating systems used on the various
mobile devices provided by the company. You understand the benefits of incorporating mobile
devices into the company’s operations, but you are also aware of the risks that these devices
bring to the company. You have been asked to find the mobile forensic tool that best suits
DRAC’s needs and to write a proposal explaining why it is critical that the company acquire the
tool and equip the IT department to support mobile devices.
Your education and your professional responsibilities have occasionally required you to perform
forensic investigations. Some of these involved mobile devices, but you were never equipped
with mobile forensic tools, and the investigations suffered because of it. You would like to do
your best to be prepared in your current role.
To show how the tool you have chosen will benefit DRAC, you’ll need to research the product as
much as possible. If the tool was part of the hands-on exercises in this course, it is
recommended that you practice using the tool beyond the scope of the exercises. Based on your
research and analysis, you’ll write a proposal that Mrs. Anson can understand and that she can
use to persuade Mr. Smith to invest in the tool.
The chart below shows the executive management team of DRAC.
DRAC IT
As the head of PASS, which handles IT, you are excited and enthusiastic about the initiative to
make the company mobile, but at the same time, you’re worried about meeting the company’s
need to be equipped with forensic tools that can be used in conjunction with mobile devices.
Offsite, DRAC’s accountants are able to VPN into the company’s headquarters to store and
retrieve information from the file server or the client database. The IT environment contains a
mix of network servers running Microsoft- and Linux-based operating systems, various Windows
and Macintosh desktops and laptops, and the newly purchased Android and Macintosh tablets
and cell phones.
DRAC has
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four Windows 2008 servers
three CentOS Linux servers
30 Windows 7 desktop computers
12 Macintosh OS X desktop computers
web server: Apache
services: FTP, SMTP, DNS, DHCP, DNS, VPN
databases: MySQL, Oracle
network management and security: Cisco routers and firewalls
Here is the DRAC network diagram:
Grading Rubrics
Grading Breakdown
Final Deliverable
Criteria
Points
%
Descriptions
Documentation and
formatting
10
10%
appropriate APA citations/references and appropriate
formatting of characters/content
Software research
20
20%
accurate completion of software research
Software analysis
20
20%
accurate completion of software analysis
Executive proposal
50
50%
strong proposal and argument for purchase
Total
100
100% A quality paper will have all of the above.
Grading Criteria
Criteria
Good
Fair
Poor
Documentation and
formatting
Software research
Software analysis
Executive proposal
7–10 points
3–6 points
0–2 points
Uses at least three sources
and provides appropriate
APA citations and references
(on a References page);
formats the citations and
references correctly
Uses at least three sources
and provides APA citations
and references (on a
References page); makes
some mistakes in
formatting
Fails to include three
sources, or fails to include
citations and/or references,
or fails to format the
citations and references
correctly
15–20 points
8–14 points
0–7 points
Effectively describes the
purpose of the software so
as to enable the upper
management of DRAC to
understand the
organizational need and to
make the decision to
purchase
Describes the software,
but not enough for upper
management to
understand the
organizational need and to
make the decision to
purchase
Describes the software in a
manner that is unclear to
upper management
Does not sufficiently
support the proposal with
documentation and
evidence—upper
management does not have
enough information to make
appropriate decisions
Supports the proposal with
documentation and evidence
Does not sufficiently
support the proposal with
documentation and
evidence
15–20 points
8–14 points
0–7 points
Provides an analysis that
demonstrates how the
software will meet the
organization’s needs
Provides an analysis that
demonstrates the purpose
of the software, but that
does not demonstrate how
the software will meet the
organization’s needs
Provides an analysis that
fails to demonstrate the
purpose of the software or
how it will meet the
organization’s needs, or
fails to provide an analysis
36–50 points
18–35 points
0–17 points
Effectively lists and describes Lists and describes the
the benefits of the software
benefits of the software
Details and explains the
primary and ancillary costs
of the software
Includes all key points of the
analysis and enables upper
management to understand
organizational needs enough
to make the right choice
Leaves out or is vague
regarding key information,
such as on cost
Describes the benefits of
the software in a way that
is unclear
Provides proposal that is
difficult to follow and/or
that leaves out key
information and details
