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 CSE 490K: Computer Security (Spring 2007)
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Course Overview

  Topics
  Grades

Exams

Homework

Projects

Policies


 
Topics

This course addresses a broad spectrum of issues in computer security and privacy, ranging from cryptography, to systems security, to network security, to usable security. We will explore fundamental challenges in the design and analysis of computer systems that must remain dependable despite the actions of adversaries. The goal of this course is to help you learn how to think about, evaluate, and understand computer security issues.

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Grades

Grades will be assigned as follows:

  • Projects: 40%
  • Homeworks: 20%
    • Textbook-style questions: 10%
    • Security evaluations: 10%
  • Midterm: 10%
  • Final: 30%
You must sign and return the Security and Privacy Code of Ethics form by the start of class on April 3 (Tuesday) in order to receive a non-zero grade for this course.

To check your grades on your MyUW page:

  1. Go to http://myuw.washington.edu.
  2. Login with your UW NetID (this is not the same as your CSE NetID in general).
  3. At the top of your MyUW page, click "Change Content".
  4. On the next page, click "Browse & Choose".
  5. On the next page, check the box next to the CSE channel and click "Save".
  6. Finally, reload your front page again, and you should see your 490K grades in a new box.
You might also be able to view your grades at https://norfolk.cs.washington.edu/mycse.

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Exams

There will be one midterm exam and a final exam for this course:
  • Midterm : May 3, in class
  • Final : June 7, 10:30am - 12:20pm, EEB 003

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Homework

There will be four kinds of homework assignments given throughout the class:
  • Reading: You will be given reading assignments associated with each lecture. You should finish the reading before coming to the lecture -- I will assume you've done this reading, and my lectures will enhance the material, rather than regurgitate it.
     
  • Textbook-style questions: I will assign written homework based on either questions from the text, or made-up questions. These assignments should be handed in at the start of class on the due date. (Make sure you read the late policy below.)
     
  • Security evaluations: With a few exceptions, each week you will get the opportunity to briefly evaluate the security of a real product of your choice. You should hand in your evaluation of these products at the start of class on the due date. (Make sure you read the late policy below. If you choose to turn in your evaluation late, then you must evaluate something publicly discussed/announced on the web after the due date. This is because we will sometimes discuss these evaluations in class.)
     
  • Extra-credit: From time to time, I may pose a question or give a programming assignment that is purely extra credit. I may award extra credit for outstanding contributions to the in-class discussions. I may also award extra credit to people contributing greatly to the course email list.

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Projects

As you've probably guessed from the allocation of grades, programming projects will be a major portion of this class. These programming projects will give you an opportunity to explore computer security first hand. At least one project will involve mounting buffer overflow attacks against real C programs, so you should be deeply familar with C, assembly language, and standard Unix command line development tools (like gdb). Full details forthcoming.

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Policies

(Many of these policies are taken verbatim from previous instances of other UW CSE courses.)
  • Late Policy: Unless otherwise indicated, assignments and projects are due by the start of lecture on their due date. If you hand in an assignment late, we will take off 20% for each day it is late. When computing the number of days late, we will round up; so an assignment turned in 1.25 days late will be downgraded 40%. We will not consider granting Incompletes as grades.

  • Reasonableness: The "Reasonable Person Principle" applies throughout this course. This principle simply states that a reasonable request made in a reasonable fashion shall be reasonably handled by reasonable persons. Let's all be "reasonable people" working on the same team to make this a great learning experience.

  • Cheating vs. Collaboration: Collaboration is a very good thing. On the other hand, cheating is considered a very serious offense. Please don't do it! Concern about cheating creates an unpleasant environment for everyone. If you cheat, you risk losing your position as a student in the department and the college. The department's policy on cheating is to report any cases to the college cheating committee. What follows afterwards is not fun for anyone.

    So how do you draw the line between collaboration and cheating? Here's a reasonable set of ground rules. Failure to understand and follow these rules will constitute cheating, and will be dealt with as per university guidelines.

    The Gilligan's Island Rule: This rule says that you are free to meet with fellow student(s) and discuss assignments with them. Writing on a board or shared piece of paper is acceptable during the meeting; however, you should not take any written (electronic or otherwise) record away from the meeting. This applies when the assignment is supposed to be an individual effort or whenever two teams discuss common problems they are each encountering (inter-group collaboration). After the meeting, engage in a half hour of mind-numbing activity (like watching an episode of Gilligan's Island), before starting to work on the assignment. This will assure that you are able to reconstruct what you learned from the meeting, by yourself, using your own brain.

    The Freedom of Information Rule: To assure that all collaboration is on the level, you must always write the name(s) of your collaborators on your assignment. These names should be listed in a prominent location at the top of the first page of your assignment.

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