CS5430: System Security (Spring 2025)

Course Overview and Organization.

Lecture times, teaching staff, office hours, prerequisites, assignments and grading policy.

Topic Outline.

High-level listing of topics to be covered along with recommended readings.

Announcements

• [1/21] The midterm examination is the evening of March 18 (Tues). Here is an an old exam and the solutions. This semester's class will cover a slightly different list of topics, so some of the questions asked on that old exam concern material that the Fall 2023 midterm exam will not cover.
• [1/21] TA office hours. TA office hours begin the week of January 27. Times and places will be listed in Course Overview and Organization.
• [1/25] MEng Project Option. Information about using the course project as the basis for an MEng project are discussed in MEng Project Option.
• [2/3] New classroom on MW. Starting today, class meets in Baker 335 on Mon and Wed. We continue to meet in Gates G01 on Fri.
• [5/2] Final exam. The final exam is scheduled for 5/10 (Sat) 2pm - 4pm, Gates G01.
  By Wed. 5/7 (11:59pm): If you intend to sit for the final exam, use CMS and complete the "Final exam" survey to sign up. You may take the final only if you have signed up, but you are not required to take the final exam if you do sign up.
  • The final exam is optional. Only if you submit your final exam for grading, will it count toward the grade you receive in CS5430. If you do not submit your final exam for grading then we will discard your paper and we will scale your midterm and use that grade instead.

  • The topic coverage for the final exam is cumulative. However, the exam will emphasize material discussed in lecture and the corresponding readings (see the page ranges given in Topic Outline) covered since the midterm examination.

Homework

• Project Phase 0 (extending a key-value store). due 2/7 at 11:59pm.
• Project Phase 1 (secure channels). Part 1 due 2/21 at 11:59pm. Part 2 due 3/5 at 11:59
• Homework 1 (on introductory concepts and shared-key protocols). due 2/16 at 11:59pm.
• Project Phase 2 (user authentication). Part 1 due 3/12 at 11:59pm. Part 2 due 3/26 at 11:59
• Project Phase 3 (user authorization). due 4/27 at 11:59pm.

• Homework 2 (on using a TPM). due 5/2 at 11:59pm.