Course Syllabus

CSCI-E46: Applied Network Security (download pdf)

 

Course Schedule: January 27, 2016 – May 11, 2016

Meeting Time/Location: Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30pm @ 53 Church Street L01

Office Hours: before class or by appointment, TA sections to be announced

 

Instructor: David LaPorte

Email: davidlaporte@fas.harvard.edu

 

Course Description

provides a practical overview of network security and related topics. General threat classifications are discussed as they relate to the CIA triad: eavesdropping (confidentiality), man-in-the-middle (integrity), and denial-of-service (availability). Real-world attack incidents and implementations are used to tie concept to reality. Defensive technologies and techniques, including authentication/authorization, access control, segmentation, log/traffic monitoring, reputation-based security, and secure protocol (SSH, TLS, DNSSEC) usage are discussed and demonstrated. Hands-on labs and exercises are used to reinforce lectures and provide practical implementation experience.

 

Prerequisites

CSCI-E45a and CSCI-E45b. Familiarity with Linux and Windows operating systems, basic understanding of IP networking.

 

Required Textbooks

“Computer Security: Principles and Practice”, 3rd Edition, William Stallings and Lawrence Brown, Pearson, 2014, ISBN-13: 978-0133773927

 

Recommended Tools/Textbooks

Several very good texts, several of which contain required course reading, are available through Safari, a collection of on-line technical books accessible through the Harvard University Library. Safari is available at:

http://ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/login?url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.eresource:safarixx

 

Additional Readings

Additional readings will be assigned on a weekly basis.  These topical readings will provide additional information or relate our classroom activities to recent developments in the industry.

 

Course Schedule

 

Week	Dates	Topic
1	01/27	Introduction, Cryptography Primer
2	01/28 – 02/03	Networking Primer
3	02/04 – 02/10	Network Security and Architecture
4	02/11 – 02/17	Enterprise Identity and Authentication
5	02/18 – 02/24	(In)Secure Protocols
6	02/25 – 03/02	Network-based Threats
7	03/03 – 03/09	Reconnaissance and Social Attacks
8	03/10 – 03/16	Spring Break
9	03/17 – 03/23	Midterm Exam
10	03/24 – 03/30	Exploitation and Persistence
11	03/31 – 04/06	Instrumenting the Network
12	04/07 – 04/13	Intrusion Detection
13	04/14 – 04/20	Firewalling and Access Control
14	04/21 – 04/27	Wireless Security
15	04/28 – 05/04	Cloud Security and Future Trends
16	05/05 – 05/11	Final Exam

 

Course Objective

At the conclusion of this course students should be able to:

• Identify key concepts in network security
• Implement these concepts as security attacks/controls in a lab environment
• Relate course material to real-world events and situations

 

Course Methodology

Each week, you will be expected to:

• Review the week's learning objectives.
• Complete all assigned readings.
• Complete all lecture materials for the week.
• Participate in the discussion forum.
• Complete and submit all assigned work - assignments, tasks, labs, and tests

 

Grading/Evaluation Standards

Class Participation/Tasks	20%
Labs	20%
Assignments	20%
Midterm Exam	20%
Final Exam	20%

 

Unless permission has been explicitly granted in writing by the instructor, all work must be completed and submitted by prescribed due dates.  Failure to do so will result in a 10% per day late penalty with a maximum 80% score.  Any extension must be requested in writing at least three days in advance of the due date.  Extensions will be granted at the sole discretion of the instructor.

 

Class Attendance and Participation

Class participation is worth 20% of your grade.  Class participation will be evaluated based on completion of weekly technical tasks and weekly contributions to the topics posted to the Canvas discussion forum.  Discussion forum posts should be well-written and demonstrate independent thinking on the part of the student, not just a reformulation of another student’s response.  As with all class work, posts must be in the student’s own words and any external sources must be properly cited.

 

Canvas

Course content, announcements, and discussion forums will be available through the course Canvas site:

https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/8096

Please review the site regularly to stay up-to-date on course announcements, assigned work, and discussion posts.

 

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

Students are expected to maintain complete honesty in all academic work.  Unless otherwise specified, all work must be completed independently.  The Harvard Extension School Academic Integrity Policy is available on-line at:

https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/student-conduct/academic-integrity

 

Special Accommodations

If you have specific disabilities that require accommodations for this course, please meet with me after class or during office hours to discuss appropriate adaptations and modifications that might be helpful to you. The Disability Services Office, located at 51 Brattle Street (617-495-0977) can provide you with information and other assistance to help manage any challenges that may affect your performance in your coursework. The Harvard Extension School requires that you provide documentation of your disabilities to DRC.

 

Moving Forward

Students should feel free to contact me by email or phone.  If necessary, individual meetings can be scheduled by appointment. To gain the greatest value from this course interaction and sharing of experiences is essential. I strongly encourage students to support one another and provide input whenever possible.