Syllabus
Course Description
This course will provide an introduction to computer security, with specific focus on the computing aspects. Topics covered will include: Basics of computer security including an overview of threat, attack, and adversary models; social engineering; essentials of cryptography; traditional computing security models; malicious software; secure programming; Operating system security in practice; trusted operating system design; public policy issues including legal, privacy, and ethical issues; network and database security overview.
Objectives
The objectives of this course are:
- To learn basic computer security concepts and terminology
- To understand fundamental classes of vulnerabilities in computer systems
- To learn basic cryptography and its applications to computer security
- To understand threats to computer systems and available countermeasures
- To learn about economic, legal, and ethical issues surrounding computer security
Required Textbook
The textbook Computer Security: Principles and Practice by William Stallings and Lawrie Brown is required. Exercises will be taken directly from the textbook. Also, you will find it very helpful for filling-in any material you missed during lecture.
Lectures and Readings
You are expected to attend all lectures for this course. You are responsible for all material covered in class. If you should happen to miss a lecture or a lab, you are responsible for getting any missed notes or announcements from a classmate.
Schedule
The course schedule includes lecture topics, midterm and final exam dates, and project and lab due dates.
Grading Criteria
Your grade in this course is based on exams, lab assignments, and projects, as follows:
| Item | Weight |
|---|---|
| Homework | 10% |
| Four Lab Assignments (10% each) | 40% |
| Midterm Exam | 20% |
| Comprehensive Final Exam | 30% |
Letter grades will follow the standard scale: A ≥ 90, 90 > B ≥ 80, 80 > C ≥ 70, 70 > D ≥ 60, 60 > F.
All grades will be posted on Blackboard.
Your grade is based on timely work accomplished during the semester. Late assignments will not be accepted unless authorized IN ADVANCE. Make-up exams will only be given for documented medical illness, family emergency, or other dire circumstances.
Homework
Homework problems will be posted for each unit. For each exercise, a student will be assigned to submit a solution, which they will post on Piazza by a specified time and date (see the class schedule). The solution will be assessed for correctness, clarity, and thoroughness and a grade assigned.
Every student is expected to work on the homework problems even if they are not assigned a problem to write-up for that unit.
Labs
Four group labs will be assigned over the course of the semester; lab groups will be created randomly and posted on Blackboard or Piazza. The labs will be started in class, but groups may need time outside of class to complete the assignments. See the course schedule for lab class days and due dates.
Details of the labs will be announced closer to the assignment dates.
Exams
There will be two exams — a mid-term and a comprehensive final exam.
A picture ID is required to take and hand-in an exam.
Blackboard and Piazza
Blackboard will be used to post grades and for official announcements. A Piazza site will be made available to support course discussion forums. Discussion forums will be created for each assignment (homework and labs), exams, and general topics.
If you have difficulty accessing the CMSC 426 Blackboard site or your Piazza account, e-mail your instructor.
Academic Conduct Policies
By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UMBC’s scholarly community in which everyone’s academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these acts are all forms of academic dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct could result in disciplinary action that may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal. To read the full Student Academic Conduct Policy, consult the Academic Integrity Resources for Students page, the Faculty Handbook (Sections 14.2-14.3), or for graduate courses, the Graduate School website.
If you need help with a project or lab, see your instructor. You are encouraged to make full use of textbooks and the course web pages.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of specific Academic Conduct violations:
- Copying code from another student
- Being in possession of another student’s code
- Providing your code to another student
- Failing to secure hardcopies of your code
- Typing code read from another student’s screen
- Submitting code found on the Internet as your own work
Your projects and labs will be checked for similarities with all other student work. If your project is found to be “substantially similar” to that of another student, or if it is determined that someone else wrote your project for you, then, at a minimum, you and the other student (if applicable) will receive a grade of zero for that project and a 10 point deduction (one letter grade) in your semester average. Furthermore, all parties concerned will have their prior projects re-checked for cheating. Any second incident will result in a grade of ‘F’ for the semester.
Note that checking for cheating may occur at any time during the semester. Therefore, if you cheated on Project 1, you may be confronted about that project at any time during the semester. Receiving a grade for a project does not mean that you are “in the clear.”
Any act of academic misconduct WILL BE reported to the University’s Academic Conduct Committee for further action, which may include, but is not limited to, academic suspension or dismissal from the University.