CSE P 590 C / CSE M 590: Computer Security (Spring 2010)

CSE Home

About Us

Search

Contact Info

Course home  Home Administrivia  Overview  Using course email  Forum Schedule  Schedule Assignments  Homework  Labs Lab information  Getting lab accounts  Unix tutorials

Course Overview   Topics   Grades Exams Homework Labs Research 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. back to top        Grades Grades for CSE P 590 C will be assigned as follows: Labs: 30% Homeworks: 30% Research: 20% Final: 20% Grades for CSE M 590 will be assigned as follows: Labs: 30% Homeworks: 25% Research: 25% Final: 20% You can check your grades here: https://catalysttools.washington.edu/gradebook/kohno/23003. back to top        Exams There will be one exam (a final) for this course, officially scheduled for the following time (but the final might be a take-home): Final : Take-home, due Thursday, June 10, 2010, 6:30pm back to top       Homework There will be four kinds of homework assignments given throughout the class: Reading: On some days you will be given reading assignments associated with the 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 submitted by the due date.   Broader contextual explorations: We will use several approaches for exploring the broader context surrounding computer security (people, ethics, society, levels of security, and so on). We will be exploring these broader contextual issues with in-class discussions and assignments.   Extra-credit: From time to time, I may pose a question or give an assignment that is purely extra credit. I may award extra credit for outstanding contributions to the in-class discussions. I may award extra credit to people contributing greatly to the course forum. I may also give you the opportunity to earn extra credit at the end of some lectures. (Make sure you read the late policy below.) back to top       Labs As you've probably guessed from the allocation of grades, labs will be a large portion of this class. These labs will give you an opportunity to explore computer security first hand and will generally require a significant amount of programming. At least one project will involve mounting buffer overflow attacks against real C programs, so you should be deeply familiar with C, assembly language, and standard Unix command line development tools (like gdb). back to top       Research This course also has a research component. For CSE P 590 (the PMP course), this means reading research papers, submitting written reviews prior to the start of class (no late reviews accepted), and participating in the discussions of those papers during class. For CSE M 590, this means all of the above, plus presenting one research paper to the class (like a traditional research seminar). back to top       Policies (Many of these policies are taken verbatim from previous instances of this and other UW CSE courses.) Late Policy: Please pay careful attention to the due dates of the assignments. For most assignments, if you hand in the 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 25 hours late will be downgraded 40%. Please note, however, that some assignments cannot be turned in late; we will clearly specify when this is the case. We will not consider granting Incompletes 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. back to top

	Computer Science & Engineering University of Washington Box 352350 Seattle, WA  98195-2350 (206) 543-1695 voice, (206) 543-2969 FAX