This graduate-level course focuses on computer security: the study of computer systems in the presence of an adversary. The course is a breadth course designed to give students exposure to many aspects of computer security, with topics including systems security, web security, edge security, and user privacy. The course will introduce students to modern research challenges in the area and the standards for how we design safer and more secure computer systems. Students will primarily read, synthesize, present, and discuss research papers. The course will culminate in a presentation of a quarter-long research project that students will conduct in small groups.
Lecture: Tu/Th 9:30–10:50 AM. Warren Lecture Hall 2204.
Instructor: Deepak Kumar
Office Hours: Tuesday 11:00–12:00 PM, or by appointment, CSE 3248.
Teaching Assistant: Arshia Arya
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 1-2pm, CSE B240A
Prerequisites: Some systems and cybersecurity knowledge is helpful, but not required. This is a research focused course, so students who are excited to explore novel topics are encouraged to enroll.
Communication: We use Canvas for announcements; You can find the syllabus here.
Submissions: All course assignments will be submitted through Gradescope. Entry Code: ZJ57EJ.
The tentative schedule and readings for the class are below:
Course introduction, definitions, reflections on trusting trust.
How do we do computer security research? What are our goals? How do we measure those goals?
Class is cancelled today. Meet with your project partners!
Why Johnny Can’t Encrypt: A Usability Evaluation of PGP 5.0 [link]
Alice in Warningland: A Large-Scale Field Study of Browser Security Warning Effectiveness [link]
Class is cancelled today. Meet with your project partners!
Presentations on the quarter-long project.
Presentations on the quarter-long project.
This is a discussion oriented research course. Students will be responsible for reading and discussing papers in class and working on a quarter-long project in groups of 3-4. Grading is based on the following components:
Attendance (5%)
Attendance is mandatory in class and constitutes 5% of your grade. You can miss up to 2 classes without penalty and without needing to justify your absence to me. If you have additional conflicts, please contact me directly.
Participation (20%)
Most class sessions will be structured as a discussion-forward lecture run by me. The primary mechanism for discussion is through cold calls, which are random calls to students to answer questions. These questions are a mix of testing comprehension of the reading material as well as getting students talking and discussing the topics in each paper. You get 3 "passes" over the quarter where you can skip the question if you have not read the paper. The expectation is that you will have read the papers in advance. If you have not read the paper in advance, you must disclose this when called on. Violations of this policy amount to an Academic Integrity violation.
Term Project (75%) [You can find the project specification here.]
Students will work on an independent research project over the term in groups of 3-4, which will culminate in a project presentation and small (~5 page) writeup. The grade is divided into several subparts: