Course-PM

EDA263/DIT641 Computer Security

for the International Masters Program in Computer Systems and Networks (MPCSN),
course period III (7,5 credits)

Revised December 17^th, 2022

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Course purpose

The course gives basic knowledge in cybersecurity, i.e. how to protect your system against intentional intrusions and attacks. The purpose of intrusions can be to change or delete resources (data, programs, hardware), to get unauthorized access to confidential information or unauthorized use of the system's services. The course covers threats and vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks, as well as rules, methods and mechanisms for protection. Modelling and assessment of security and dependability as well as metrication methods are covered. During a few lectures, a holistic security approach is taken and organizational, business-related, social, human, legal and ethical aspects are treated.

Prerequisites: The course EDA093 Operating systems or equivalent knowledge is recommended.

Course homepage

Most material will only be found here in CANVAS. 

Schedule

Even though TimeEdit has the course schedule, there are sometimes delays in us being able to update it. For that reason, use the calendar in CANVAS foremost.

The lectures usually take place in Monday 13:15, Thursday 10:00 and Friday 15:15, but the rooms shifts so please always check canvas/timeedit calendar. The Friday lectures will *mostly* be self-study / group study so no physical lecture if not stated in the canvas calendar. Note that the very first lecture takes place Monday January 16, 1515--1700 in HB1 (note the time slot!).  

The labs are mostly designed to be done at home, but some labs will require a physical demonstrations in person. Physical demonstrations and in-person lab time will be limited and need to be scheduled. Also "The project (scanning)" needs to be explicitly scheduled.

Contact details

• Teachers
  • Associate Professor Magnus Almgren, ph. 031 772 1702, email: magnus.almgren@chalmers.se
• Responsible for laborations
  
  • M.Sc Francisco Izquierdo, email: francisco.izquierdo@chalmers.se
• Laboratory supervisors
  
  • Teaching Assistants, to be updated in January 2023. 

Please use CANVAS foremost for communication with the teaching staff. 

Course literature

• Text book: Stallings & Brown: Computer Security, edition 4, Pearson 2018, ISBN: 9781292220611
• Offprints (OP): can be downloaded in CANVAS.
• Downloads and links (DL) from modules page in CANVAS.

Course design

The course is designed around a set of lectures (see the Modules) and four assignments / labs. 
(this year we also plan to add a set of home assignments, voluntary this year but to become obligatory for next year)

Part 1: Lectures
Part 2: Laborations/Project
Part 3: Home assignments (not officially part of 2022/2023, but developed to be part of 2023/2024)

This is a broad course, covering many different topics in security. As such, the lectures start from basic terminology, discuss authentication and access control, malware, vulnerabilities, defenses, and also the human factor. The topics are listed under the Modules. The lectures are many times focused on a section of the course book. The slides and the corresponding reading instructions for the book should then be read. For a few topics, we also provide a PDF document with extra material. This will be referred to as the "offprint" (OP). We also use links to content on the web for some sections. 

The labs will start in course week 2 and continue until the end of the course. These assignments will be done by students in groups (no exceptions). The information regarding these assignments can be found in the module describing these assignments. They focus on authentication, sending encrypted emails, the vulnerability SQL injection, and using a tool for finding vulnerabilities. Demonstration of some labs are required in person by all team members. To book a slot, please follow the instructions at Overview of Labs. 

If students miss assignment deadlines, we will have catch-up times at the same time as the reexaminations occur. 

Changes made since the last occasion

• Due to covid-19, some parts of the course was redeveloped. The idea is to keep parts of these changes, and also strengthen the off-campus / on-campus activities.

Examination form

Three written examination opportunities will be offered and are listed at the Chalmers student portal.  

For 2022/2023 the exams will take place:

• 2022-03-17 (pm)
• 2022-06-07 (pm)
• 2022-08-23 (pm)

For the normal written exam in person, no aids are allowed for the exam. Marks 3, 4 and 5 are given for a passed examination (GU: Pass and Pass with distinction). The whole course is passed when the written examination and the laborations are passed.

Learning objectives and syllabus

The syllabus for Chalmers students and for GU students. Below is a tentative schedule on how the course will look like, but note that the official schedule as not published at Chalmers so changes may still occur.