Information for Fall 11 CS136 --- Computer Security

This page contains pointers to Postscript versions of slides used in CS136, Computer Security. It also contains pointers to non-required reading and other material related to the class.

This page is organized by the weeks of the quarter in which lectures were given. The weeks are in inverse order, on the assumption you will most often be looking for the most recent week.

This class will be taught by Peter Reiher. The textbook is Computer Security: Art and Science, by Matt Bishop. Assigned readings are from this book, unless otherwise indicated. Dr. Bishop has also published a second textbook that contains selected sections of this book, with a similar title. I can't guarantee that all material assigned will actually be in this other book, and it will definitely be at different pages if it's there at all.

I will be lecturing on these subjects during the class.

TA and Labs

The TA for the course is Erik Kline -- icebeast@cs.ucla.edu. The labs for this course will consist of 5 hands-on, practical and exploratory projects covering security-related topics, plus a short introduction to the lab software. Office hour and discussion section information will be determined following the first recitation section and posted here.

Instructions for accessing the homework will be given out via email following the first class section and will be discussed during the first recitation section. The lab manual and all necessary materials for the labs are located here (login information for these resources will be provided on Thursday via email).

Final Exam

The final exam will be given in class during our standard final exam period, which is Friday December 9 from 11:30 AM till 2:30 PM. It will be a closed book, closed note test similar in format to the midterm, but longer. It will cover all material from the lectures, slides, and assigned readings, but nothing that only appeared on the labs. Here is a sample final exam. The actual final will be similar in form, though some of the material covered for the class for which this final was given was different than what we covered. So if there are a couple of questions that seem totally unfamiliar, that's probably the reason.

Here is the answer sheet for the sample final exam.

Week 10 (November 28 - December 2)

Thursday, December 1

Slides:

Lecture 18

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Chapter 21 (pages 571 -608)

Tuesday, November 29

Slides:

Lecture 17

Assigned readings:

No readings are assigned for Tuesday.

Week 9 (November 17 - November 23)

NOTE: There will be no class on Tuesday, November 22.

Thursday, November 17

Slides:

Lecture 16

Assigned readings:

No readings assigned for Tuesday.

Week 8 (November 10 - November 16)

Tuesday, November 14

Slides:

Lecture 15

Assigned readings:

No readings assigned for Tuesday.

Thursday, November 10

Slides:

Lecture 14

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Chapter 22 (pages 613-641)

Week 7 (November 3 - November 9)

Tuesday, November 8

Slides:

Lecture 13

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Chapter 25 (pages 723-767)

Web link (not required reading):

SANS' frequently asked question page on intrusion detection contains links to a lot of useful information, without trying to sell you on a particular product.

Thursday, November 3

Slides:

Lecture 12

Assigned readings:

No new readings from the textbook are assigned for today.

Web links:

The home page for the Honeynet project. You are not required to read or investigate this page, but if you find the concept of honeypots and honeynets particularly interesting, this is a good place to learn more.

Week 6 (October 27 - November 2)

Tuesday, November 1

Slides:

Lecture 11

Assigned readings:

No new readings assigned for today.

Thursday, October 27

Midterm Examination

Week 5 (October 20 - October 26)

Tuesday, October 25

Slides:

Lecture 10

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Chapter 26 (pages 773-799)

Thursday, October 20

Slides:

Lecture 9

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Chapter 24. (Pages 689-719)

Week 4 (October 13 - October 19)

Tuesday, October 18

Slides:

Lecture 8

Assigned readings:

No readings for this class.

Thursday, October 13

Slides:

Lecture 7

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Chapter 12 (pages 309-335)

Web links:

A discussion on choosing secure passwords.

A short essay on the limits of using biometrics by Bruce Schneier. This essay is embedded in a longer newsletter. You need only read the section titled "Biometrics in Airports".

Week 3 (October 6 - October 12)

Tuesday, October 11

Slides:

Lecture 6

Assigned readings:

No assigned readings for today.

Thursday, October 6

Slides:

Lecture 5

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Chapter 10, sections 10.1, 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5 (pages 245-246, 252-266)

Week 2 (September 29 - October 5)

Tuesday, October 4

Slides:

Lecture 4

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Chapter 9, sections 9.2.2.2-9.7 (pages 227-241)

Thursday, September 29

Slides:

Lecture 3

Assigned readings:

Textbook: Introduction to Section IV and Chapter 9, sections 9.1-9.2.2.2 (pages 215-227). This assignment is a bit late, since it really pertains to material in lecture 2 (which I didn't complete on Tuesday, anyway).

Textbook: Chapter 2 (pages 31-44) and Chapter 15 (pages 381-396).

Week 1 (September 22 - September 28)

Tuesday, September 27

Slides:

Lecture 2

Assigned readings:

Tuesday, September 28

Textbook: Chapter 4, Sections 4.1-4.6 (pages 95-114)

Chapter 5, Sections 5.1-5.2.2 (pages 123-132)

Chapter 6, Sections 6.1-6.2 (pages 151-155)

Chapter 7, Section 7.1 (pages 169-177)

Thursday, September 22

Slides:

Lecture 1

Textbook: Chapter 1 (pages 1-25)

Web links:

Improving the Security of Networked Systems, Julia Allen, Christopher Alberts, Sandi Behrens, Barbara Laswell, and William Wilson.

Why Computers Are Insecure, Bruce Schneier. (The link leads to an entire web page on various security subjects. Read it all, if you want, but the assignment is only this essay, which is around a page and a half.)

Social Engineering Fundamentals, Part I: Hacker Tactics Sarah Granger.

The Stuxnet worm was discussed in class. This article talks about how it was analyzed and determined to be intended for taking control of certain kinds of facilities.