CS 4740/6740 - Network Security

Syllabus

Welcome to the Network Security course webpage (CS 6740 and CS 4740). This is a hands-on course that provides students the opportunity to explore the practical elements of information security awareness and related design and deployment decisions in a secure lab while simultaneously acquiring a strong conceptual knowledge of the underlying theory in the more traditional classroom environment.

Instructors interested in using the course material (including laboratory setup, configs, and solutions) are welcome to contact me.

Staff

Instructor

Guevara Noubir (noubir ATA ccs DOTA neu DOTA edu)
Phone: (617) 373 5205
Office: 238 West Village H

Lab TA

Aldo Cassola (acassola ATA ccs DOTA neu DOTA edu)
Phone: (617) 373 2495
Office: 208 West Village H
Office Hours: Wednesday 5:00pm - 6:00pm

Class Information

Time/Location

Tuesday 1:35 pm - 3:15, 262 WVF

Friday 1:35 pm - 3:15, 212 WVH

Office Hours

Thu 2:00-4:00 PM.

Required Textbook

Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World Charles Kaufman, Radia Perlman, Mike Speciner, Pearson Education, April 2002

Course Home Page

http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/noubir/Courses/CS6740/F09.

Mailing list

Register: https://lists.ccs.neu.edu/bin/listinfo/csg254.

Previous years Home Page

http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/noubir/Courses/CSG254/S09.

Prerequisites

Fundamentals of Computer Networks or Internetworking course.

Course schedule

Current Schedule.

Laboratory

Laboratory assignments and final competition will be carried out on the college VMware Virtual Network.

Additional Resources

List of books.
List of useful links.

Class Materials

• [PDF] Review of Internet architecture and protocols.
• [PDF] Non-cryptographic network security: tools, etc.
• [PDF] Review of cryptography concepts, algorithms, and security services.
• [PDF] Authentication Protocols
• [PDF] Kerberos.
• [PDF] Secure Socket Layer SSL/TLS.
• [PDF] Public Key Infrastructures (PKI).
• [PDF] IPsec: AH, ESP, IKE.
• [PDF] Viruses, Worms, DDOS.
• [PDF] Multicast Security.

Assignments

Submission Guidelines

Problem Sets

• PS1 [solution]

• PS2 [solution]

• PS3 [solution]

Lab Assignments

• Introduction

• Buffer Overflow

• Port Scanning

• Network Intrusion Detection

• Host-based Instrusion Detection

• Password Cracking

• Firewall

• Host Hardening

• Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

• Local Exploits

• Vulnerability Scanning

• Application Exploits

Midterm

The midtem will take place on November 20th (5:30pm - 8:30pm). Please mark your calendars and make sure that you will be able to attend the midterm.

Finals competition

The main goal is to get a hands-on experience with securing networks and designing/developing secure network applications. An outline of the competition setup will be provided later. The lab assignments will help the teams to prepare for the competition by gradually building a secure network.

Notes

• Late submissions will result in a 10% penalty per day (e.g.: 2.5 days late result in 25% penalty.)

• Students may discuss the problem sets with one another, but solutions should be written up separately.

• If a key idea is obtained from another person (other than the TA or the instructor) or from another book or paper (other than the course textbook), then the source of that idea should be cited. Solutions should be presented in a clear and concise manner.

• All the team member should participate actively to the labs and application development. For each laboratory each group member should document his contribution.

Grading

The course grade will be based on:

• 25%: 3 problem sets on network security theoretical concepts
• 10%: 3 quizzes
• 30%: Midterm exam
• 15%: Laboratory assignments
• 20%: Report and final competition