CSCI 6268: Foundations of Computer and Network Security

General Information

This page contains general information about the csci6268 class, including contact information, books, prerequisites, evaluation criteria, and policies. Please monitor the announcement page for up-to-date information, schedule changes, and other important announcements regarding the course.

Instructors

John R. Black

office:	ECOT 627
phone:	+1-303-492-0573
e-mail:	[email protected]
office hours:	Monday 11:00-12:00, Thursday 14:30-15:30

Antonio Carzaniga

office: ECCS 121B
phone: +1-303-492-7852
e-mail: [email protected]
office hours: Monday 11:00-12:00, Thursday 14:30-15:30

office:	ECCS 121B
phone:	+1-303-492-7852
e-mail:	[email protected]
office hours:	Monday 11:00-12:00, Thursday 14:30-15:30

Meeting Times and Place

Tues 9:30 - 10:45, DUAN G1B27 (Physics building where Math/CS Library is)
Thur 9:30 - 10:45, ECCR 1B51

Schedule

Check out the schedule page.

Announcements

Important announcements regarding the course will be made via e-mail and the course announcement web page. E-mail will be used for personal communications or for small groups. Announcements of general interest will be posted on the announcement page. Every student is responsible for both regularly reading e-mail and checking the course announcement web page.

Mailing List

The course has an e-mail list that should serve as a discussion forum for the class. You will be added to the alias list as soon as you fill in and submit the survey form. Feel free to post any relevant question or comment to the mailing list by sending mail to [email protected].

Books

Required:

A.J. Menezes, P.C. van Oorschot and S.A. Vanstone, "Handbook of Applied Cryptography", CRC Press, ISBN: 0-8493-8523-7, October 1996, 816 pages. A free on-line copy of this book is available. Students are encouraged to use the on-line copy.
W. Stallings, "Network Security Essentials: Applications and Standards" Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-016093-8, 1999.

Prerequisites

Graduate standing;
CSCI 5273 Network Systems;
Good working knowledge of C, C++, or Java;
Working knowledge of machine architectures and C runtime environment
Basic knowledge of the IP protocols suite

Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on homework assignments, exams, and participation.

Homeworks will be assigned roughly every other Tuesday. They will be due two weeks after the assignment date, and they will be graded and discussed in class on the Thursday following the due date. There will be a total of six assignments. All six assignments must be completed and turned in by their due date.

There will be two mid-term exams on selected, previously covered topics. There will also be a final exam covering the entire course.

Homeworks, exams and participation will be contribute to the final grade according to the following table of weights:

6 homeworks 30% (5% each)
2 mid-term exams 40% (20% each)
final exam 30%

6 homeworks	30% (5% each)
2 mid-term exams	40% (20% each)
final exam	30%

Deadlines

Principle: Deadlines are firm.

Exceptions may be granted, at the instructor's discretion, only for documented medical conditions or other documented emergencies.

Plagiarism

Principle: A student should never take someone else's material and present it as his or her own. Doing so means committing plagiarism.

The term "material" here refers to ideas, words, code, or any other piece of intellectual work, including suggestions and corrections regarding the student's own work.

Using someone else's material in homeworks and/or exams may be appropriate. For example, in creating software for a homework, a student may want to use external libraries, programs, code fragments, or other external software artifacts. In every such case, whether the external material is used verbatim or with modifications, the student must always clearly identify the external material, and acknowledge its source. Failing to do so means committing plagiarism.

In any case in which external material is used by a student in homeworks and/or exams, the work will be evaluated based on the added value produced by that student.

Penalties for committing plagiarism include failing grades on assignments, failure in the course, and notification letters to the College, to be inserted in the student's file. Penalties will be assessed by the instructor and/or the department.

Groups

Principle: Homeworks should be the effort of single students. However in some special cases, working in group may be synergistic and therefore more productive.

Selected homework assignments may be handed in as joint assignments by groups of students. A group is formed by no more than two students. Joint assignments must be approved by the instructor. It is expected that a joint homework contain more material and added value than the sum of two single homeworks. Joint assignment will be assessed accordingly.

this page is maintained by Antonio Carzaniga