Introduction to Computer Security

Title Introduction to Computer Security (56511)
Quarter Winter 2019
Instructor William Conner (wconner@cs.uchicago.edu)
Website

https://sites.google.com/site/wgconner2/security-w19
Syllabus

Description

This course introduces computer security principles and practices. Topics will range from classical cryptography to recent web application security risks listed in the OWASP Top 10. The course will emphasize both offense (i.e., attacker mindset) and defense (i.e., designing and building secure systems).

Topics

  • ●  Threat modeling

  • ●  Cryptography

  • ●  TLS and HTTPS

  • ●  Web application security

  • ●  Network security

  • ●  Authentication and access control

  • ●  Memory safety and isolation

  • ●  Trusted computing

  • ●  Side channels

  • ●  Anonymity and web privacy

  • ●  Underground economy

  • ●  Human factors

  • ●  Security ethics

  • ●  Cryptographic policy


  1. Coursework

    • ●  5 written homework assignments

    • ●  3 programming projects

    • ●  final project (research topic or threat assessment)

    • ●  midterm and final exam

  2. Textbook

    Security Engineering, 2nd Ed. (freely available at https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/book.html) by Ross Anderson

    NOTE: To supplement the course textbook, required readings will also include security research papers linked on the course website.
Prerequisites (Courses)

● Core programming (required)
● Introduction to Computer Systems (recommended, but not required)
Prerequisites (Other)

● Familiarity with C, Java, and/or Python (required)
● Familiarity with Linux command line (recommended, but not required)
Satisfies

Core Systems
Time

Tuesday 5:30-8:30pm
Location

JCL 390