News

• (May 20) NEW  Grades posted on grades.cs.umd.edu.
• (May 14) Final exam coverage:
  • topics from text (updated for chapters 17, 18, 19)
  • projects
  • slides (internet intro, crypto, authentication, standards)
• (May 7) Standards slides updated (added SSL, IPsec).
• (May 4) Homework 4 solution.
• (May 2) Homework 5-S09. Due May 12 or earlier.
• (Apr 17) Standards slides (currently Kerberos and PKI).
• (Apr 17) Homework 4 (due thursday apr 28 in class). Homework 3: grading policy now included in posted solution.
• (Apr 15) Updated authentication slides (4/page, cosmetic changes).
• (Apr 8) Exam 1 thresholds for A and B lowered by 3 points (to accomodate the grading of problem 6).
• (Apr 7) Exam 1
  • Solution and grading. There may be typos.
  • Histogram and cutoffs.
  • Scores posted on cs.grades.umd.edu grades.cs.umd.edu.
  • Regrade request deadline: one week from today in class.
• (Mar 31) Project 2 posted on submit server. Due April 12.
• (Mar 30) Homework 2-S09 solution (grading policy not yet included). Homework 3 solution.
• (Mar 28) Practice exams. As suggested, do an exam under exam conditions; then see how you score; then review the material you did not understand; then repeat with the next exam. Work your way from earliest to latest.
  • Fall 2008 Exam 1 and its solution and grading.
  • Fall 2007 Exam 1 and its solution and grading.
  • Fall 2006 Exam 1 and its solution and grading. Ignore problem 3 (based on a discontinued project).
  • Spring 2006 Exam 1 and its solution and grading. This exam is not really representative (too weak on authentication).
• (Mar 23) Homework 3 (due Mar 31 Tuesday in class): Chapter 9, problems 2 and 3.
• (Mar 10) Midterm on Apr 2.
• (Mar 10) Homework 2-S09 (due mar 24 in class). The last two questions are new, so this hw will count more than usual.
• (Feb 27) Project 1 posted:
  • The cs submit server https://submit.cs.umd.edu will be used for the projects. You can log in using your directory id/password.
  • The project 1 starter file is available from the submit server. The instructions from there are also here (read the Java API stuff).
  • The OIT Grace cluster is also available for this course but do not use the submit facility there (use cs submit server instead).
  • Send project questions to Saeed; cc me if you want.
  • Due Sat Mar 7; details at submit server.
• (Feb 25) Midterm on mar 26, mar 28, or apr 2, between spring break (mar 16-20) and W-drop deadline (apr 10). Final at the official time: monday, may 18, 10:30am-12:30pm.
• (Feb 16) TA contact info posted.
• (Feb 16) Homework 1 (due feb 24 in class).
• (Feb 10) Crypto slides (4 per page, few minor changes)
• (Feb 4) Intro and internet context slides

Overview

This course is an introduction to the broad field of computer network security, examining algorithms and protocols for confidentiality, authentication, non-repudiation, anonymity, etc., and applications involving them (secure email, secure web tranactions, etc.).

Required text:

Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World, 2nd edition by Kaufman, Perlman, and Speciner. ISBN 0-13-046019-2.

In case you're wondering, the first edition of this book is fine for most of the course. There are only a few chapters (IPsec, SSL) that we cover which are not present in the first edition. So if you can access this material, the first edition should suffice.

Course topics, roughly in the order to be covered.

Class notes:

crypto; authentication; IPsec and SSL (TBD).

Programming projects

TBD

Practice exams

The only "practice" exams I will post will be the midterm exams from previous semesters, which are also publicly available on the previous class web pages. I suggest you don't look at this exam prematurely. In my opinion, the best use of these practice exams is to first prepare for this semester's midterm and then do the following with each exam (from earliest to latest): do a practice exam under exam conditions (including time duration); see how you score (the scoring guidelines are also included in the exam solution); review the material you did not understand; repeat with the next exam.

Homeworks

Many of the homework problems are repeated from previous semesters, and their solutions are publicly available on the previous class web pages. Such homework problems will have a very small weight in the final grade, but understanding the solution can help you in the exams.

Late homeworks will not be accepted; turn in whatever you have completed by the deadline.

Regrade requests

Any regrade request (for exams, homeworks, projects) must be submitted within a week of the grade being posted.

Grading

• Midterm ------ approx 30%     (Date: mar 26, mar 28, or apr 2)
• Final ---------- approx 30%     (Date: monday, may 18, 10:30am-12:30pm)
• Projects/Homework ---- approx  30%    

Academic Integrity

Homeworks and projects are to be done individually. You may consult outside references when doing the homework, as long as these sources are properly referenced, you write up the solution yourself, and you understand the answer. For example, if you look at other source code, you may not copy the code directly in your program, but you may model your program after it. And you must reference it!

Academic dishonesty.

This page and all problem sets, lecture notes, and exams linked to it are copyrighted. Use of these pages for the class CMSC414 at the University of Maryland is permitted. Any other use requires permission of the author (Udaya Shankar, shankar@cs.umd.edu).