Computer Security Concepts

Course

COMP 435, Fall 2017
MW 3:35–4:50 P.M.
SN014
Syllabus

Instructor

Cynthia Sturton
csturton@cs.unc.edu
instr-435-cs@cs.unc.edu
FB354

TA & LAs

Connor Hamlet
Anushri Adhia
Ahmed King
Aaron Zhang
instr-435-cs@cs.unc.edu

Office Hours

Course Description

Building secure systems is the responsibility of all computer scientists, not just a few security specialists. To that end, this class will foster in students an understanding and development of a security mindset. Along the way, students will learn about the types of security policies one might care about, how attackers can and have thwarted security, sometimes in surprising ways, and what steps computer scientists and engineers can take to improve the security of their own systems. The course will cover aspects of security ethics and privacy and will incorporate discussion of related events in the news.

This class is meant for computer science students who wish to develop basic literacy in security topics. the prerequisites are COMP410 and COMP 411. Students who have already taken Introduction to Computer Security (COMP535) should not enroll in this class.

Key Dates

Midterm exam: 9/20/2017 (tentative)
Midterm exam: 10/30/2017 (tentative)
Final exam: 12/9/2017 4–7 P.M.

Grading

In-class exercises: 10%
Assignments: 40%
Midterms: 30%
Final exam: 20%