CS5430: System Security (Fall 2022) - Overview and Organization

Course Overview. This course discusses security for stand-alone computers and networked information systems. The focus is abstractions, principles, and defenses for implementing secure systems.

Course URL:   http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Courses/CS5430/2022FA/

Lecture: Attendance is required. If you must miss a lecture, arrange with another student to find out the material you missed.

9:40 -- 10:55 Monday, Wednesday, Friday G01 Gates Hall

Instructor:
Professor Fred B. Schneider   (255-9221)   422 Gates Hall

Office hours:

email: fbs@cs.cornell.edu  


Course Staff:
Jack Farley, email: jlf329@cornell.edu
Linda Huang, email: sh837@cornell.edu
Goktug Saatcioglu, email: gs724@cornell.edu
Emeka Ubakanma, email: cnu2@cornell.edu

TA Office Hours: Course staff are available each day to help with questions about course material and assignments.

Prerequisites. The course is open to any undergraduate or graduate student who has mastered the material in CS4410 (Operating Systems).
Readings:
Readings to complement the lectures are noted in the course outline. Students are expected to stay current by reading the relevant documents after the material has been covered in lecture. The on-line notes are not a good substitute for attending class because the lectures in this course do change from year to year.

Assignments and Grading: Final course grades will be computed as follows:

All assignments are due on the date stipulated, so that correct answers can be distributed and/or freely discussed in lecture after the due date.

Any student who has taken the midterm examination, submitted a programming project, and submitted all homework may skip the final examination. If you do not submit a final examination then we will predict the grade you would have received by computing the average of the grades you received on the midterm and programming project.

A student can expect to receive a final course grade of B- or better if that student has submitted all of the written homework assignments, submitted a solution to the project, taken the midterm or final, and has only missed lectures when there is a university documented medical excuse.

COVID 19 and Other Illness. Zoom recordings of lecturers are not available for absences, including absences due to illness. For any illness, you are expected to keep up with course material by working with a peer in the course and reading the on-line notes.

If you have symptoms of COVID 19, then proceed as follows.

  1. Do not come to class.
  2. Send email to Professor Schneider before class starts to state that you are (i) not coming to class and (ii) are instead seeking out an antigen test. According to university policy and free access to tests, you will be able to take a test immediately upon noticing symptoms and will have a result within minutes.
  3. Wear a mask in class through the 10th day after symptoms begin.

Academic Integrity. Academic integrity violations will be prosecuted. Do not discuss or collaborate with other students in the class on the assigned homeworks or programming project unless the assignment explicitly states otherwise. The source and the sink in an illicit collaboration both will receive a penalty.

Course materials appearing on the course web site or provided to you in CMS are the intellectual property of Professor Schneider. Students are not permitted to share, buy, or sell those materials. Such unauthorized behavior constitutes academic misconduct. In addition, you are prohibited from posting, submitting, or acquiring course materials or content through online "study" platforms. If you acquire or otherwise access course materials through such a platform, you are violating the Code of Academic Integrity. (Cornell is able to trace posts from internet sites, including identifying the individuals who provide content and those who access and/or use the content).

Finally, students are expected to be familiar with the University's and the CS Department's various policies on appropriate use of computers.

Inclusion. Students in this course come from a variety of backgrounds, abilities, and identities. To promote learning for all, each student and staff member is expected to contribute at all times to an inclusive and respectful environment in and out of class. If you feel that this is not happening, please contact Professor Schneider.