CSE23AYear 2 · Quarter 3 · 5 ECcore — promoted from elective

Computer Security

Systems security, network security and applied cryptography — from buffer overflows to TLS.

Lectures: 15
Exams: 2
Solutions: 6
Notes: 1
Textbooks: 0
Total: 29 · 64 MB

Promoted to core. Was CSE3220, a year-3 elective; now compulsory for everyone.

What it covers

Systems security: access control models (Bell-LaPadula, Biba), memory vulnerabilities (buffer overflows, Heartbleed-style overreads), ASLR/W^X, malware, fuzzing
Network security: OSI-layer threats, DoS/DDoS (SYN floods, HTTP floods), botnets, firewalls, IDS, the Cyber Kill Chain
Applied cryptography: AES, RSA, SHA-2, digital signatures, Diffie-Hellman, PKI, TLS basics, IND-CPA/IND-CCA

Assessment

Two mandatory group assignments (20%, practical labs on WebLab) and a 3-hour computer-based final exam (80%), split evenly across the three topic areas, each with multiple-choice (40%) and open questions (60%). A handwritten A4 cheat sheet is permitted in the exam.

Worth knowing

Assumes CSE11C (memory layout, the stack), CSE14B (TCP/IP stack) and CSE13C are solid — systems- and network-security questions build directly on them.
Group assignments cannot be completed individually; the alternative-assignment process is for genuine emergencies only, not low scores or missed deadlines.
Only one year of exams is archived here — this course only just became core, so the material set is still thin and will grow.

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Lectures · 15

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