ISA 656 Network Security

Spring 2010

This page will be updated frequently

Time and Place: Thursday 4:30~7:10pm at Engineering Building 5358

Instructor: Dr. Xinyuan (Frank) Wang

Office: Room 5331 Engineering Building

Office phone: (703) 993-9461

Office hours: Tuesday 3:00~4:25PM or by appointment

Email: xwangc at gmu dot edu

 

Teaching Assistant: TBD

Office hours: TBD

Email: TBD

 

Course Description

The objective of this course to is provide comprehensive introduction to the network security problems, and the principles, techniques and their applications in securing network. We will focus on the Internet, and we will examine existing Internet security techniques and protocols and discuss about open problems in Internet security.  Topics include secret key and public key cryptography, Hash algorithms, basic number theory, authentication, IPSEC/VPN, IPSEC key exchange, SSL/TLS, firewall, anonymous communication and VoIP seucurity.

Course Outcomes

  • An comprehensive understanding on the subject of network security
  • A knowledge of the state of the art of network security research
  • A deep understanding on the principles and techniques used in securing network or Internet, as well as the technical challenges and fundamental limitations of existing network security solutions
  • Preparation to become either a capable practitioner or independent researcher in network security

Course Prerequisite

ISA 562 or equivalent

CS 555 or equivalent

C/C++ and network programming experience

Textbook and Readings

Required: Network Security, Private Communication in a Public World 2nd Edition by C. Kaufman, R. Perlman, M. Speciner.

Reference: Network Security Essentials 2nd Edition by W. Stallings.

Relevant research papers for advanced topics will be included.

Grading

Assignments

        30%

Midterm Exam
30%

Term Project

        30%

Participation

        10%

Assignments include paper homeworks and programming projects. The midterm exam is a closed book exam. The term project include a 15~25 minutes presentation in class and a final report of no more than 15 pages. The term paper could be:

·        Research Paper

o       You can work on original research problems. The outcome should be a paper with original technical contribution.

o       Your grade on this will be judged on originality, soundness of the approach, and quality of presentation.

o       Example Topics:

§        New Attacks to Well-Accepted Techniques or Standards

§        Wireless Security

§        Key Management

§        Denial-of-Service Attack

§        Intrusion Detection and Response

§        Intrusion Tracing

§        Information Hiding/Steganography/Watermarking

§        IPSEC/VPN

§        Firewall

§        Authentication

§        Access Control

§        Authorization

§        Worm & Virus Detection

§        etc.

·        Survey Paper

o       You can write a paper that surveys a particular field on information security. The outcome should be a paper that summarizes the trend in the field you have chosen. Your grade will be judged on the completeness of the survey, the quality of the trend analysis, and the quality of presentation.

o       Example Topics:

§        New Attacks to Well-Accepted Techniques or Standards

§        Wireless Security

§        Key Management

§        Intrusion Detection and Response

§        Denial-of-Service Attack

§        Intrusion Tracing

§        Information Hiding/Steganography/Watermarking

§        IPSEC/VPN

§        Firewall

§        Authentication

§        Access Control

§        Authorization

§        Worm & Virus Detection

§        etc.

All assignments, term paper must be done individually by each student, unless explicitly required otherwise..

The final grades are computed according to the following rules:

·        A+: >= 95%

·        A: >= 90% and < 95%

·        A-: >= 85% and < 90%

·        B+: >= 80% and < 85%

·        B: >= 75% and < 80%

·        B-: >= 70% and < 75%

·        C+: >= 66% and < 70%

·        C: >= 63% and < 66%

·        C-: >= 60% and < 63%

·        D+: >= 56% and < 60%

·        D: >= 53% and < 56%

·        D-: >= 50% and < 53%

·        F: < 50%.

Class Schedule (will be updated frequently)

Note

All students, including those who are taking the course online, are required to take the writen exam(s) at specified place, and present the course project on campus.

Academic Integrity

All students are required to follow all university, school and department policies regarding academic integrity. Violator of the Honor Code will result in a grade of F for the course, as well as any penalties imposed by the university and/or the CS department.

Disability Statement

If you have a documented learning disability or other condition that may affect academic performance you should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 222; 703-993-2474; www.gmu.edu/student/drc) to determine the accommodations you need; and 2) talk to the instructor to discuss your accommodation needs. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the ODS.