CIS 4930/6930, Fall 2016
Systems Security
Content of this page will be updated throughout the semester and nothing is final on the page.
Course Goals
This course aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of computer system security. The course will focus on how computer systems, specifically operating systems, are built in a way that makes breaching into a system harder. It will also cover basic security concepts, including common attack techniques, application of cryptography in security, authentication/authorization, and network security. The course will provide a number of historical aspects on how operating systems have evolved over time and how security consideration was brought into their design. Not only mechanisms for enhancing security will be taught, a great deal of the course is also to discuss when and where things can go wrong and how design flaws in a system can be exploited to compromise security. The goal of the course is to provide a solid theoretical foundation for computer system security, and hands-on experience in applying the theory to practice. Interesting research topics can also be derived from course projects.
Course Schedule
Instructor and course meeting times
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Instructor: Xinming (Simon) Ou (xou at USF dot EDU), ENB339
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TAs: Xiaolong (Daniel) Wang (xiaolongw AT mail DOT usf.edu),
Fengguo Wei (fwei AT mail DOT usf.edu)
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Meeting time:
MW 2-3:15, in ENG 4
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Office hour: Simon (ENB 339): Tue 2-4, or by appointment. TAs (ENB 225) Fengguo: Tue 3-5. Daniel: Thu 10-12.
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of computer systems, including operating systems, networks, compilers, etc. This is a course that primarily targets graduate students and junior/senior-level undergraduate students in computer science and engineering.
Grading
There will be on average one assignment every two weeks, which could be a written homework or a programming project. Graduate students need to submit an in-depth report on a topic within systems security and make a 30min presentation in class. There will be a midterm exam. The break down of the final score of the course is:
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Assignments: 60%
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Exams: 30%
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Class participation: 10%
Contact
Questions can be emailed to xou (put some stuff here) usf (a little dot) edu.