Northeastern University

CS 7780: Special Topics in Networking

News & Announcements

Syllabus

This special topics course will focus on Security and Privacy in Mobile and Wireless Systems. Wireless communication is the key enabling technology of the Mobile Revolution that we are currently enjoying. Beyond enabling Mobile Phones, Wireless Sensor Networks, and the Internet of Things devices, it is also key to Cyber- Physical Systems. In general, the convenience of wireless communication is making it the primary technology for connecting to the Internet. Manufacturers of laptops and streaming devices, such as the Apple MacBook Pro and the Roku streaming player, are even removing Ethernet ports and entirely relying on wireless links. However, the broadcast nature of the wireless medium, and the always with us platform for everything nature of mobile devices makes them attractive and vulnerable to two types of major attacks: information leakage and denial of service. This course provides the foundations to understand the security and privacy threats to wireless and mobile systems specially in the era of cloud computing.

Staff

Instructor

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

Lab TA

TBA

Class Information

Time/Location
Monday / Thursday at 11:45 am - 1:25 pm, YMCA 200
Office Hours
Monday / Thursday at 2:00pm - 3:00 pm, 238 WVH.
Required Textbook
None
Course Home Page
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/noubir/Courses/CS7780/F14/.
Announcements, discussions, forums
All announcements and discussions will be through piazza : https://piazza.com/northeastern/fall2014/cs7780.
Prerequisites
Basics knowledge of Network Security (e.g., a Networking course).

Class Topics

The course is divided in three parts.
Part I:
  • Review of Network Security: from Crypto to Security Protocols
  • Fundamentals of Wireless & Mobile Systems: key features and mechanisms of wireless and mobile systems
  • Security Standards in current Wireless & Mobile Systems: WiFi Security (WEP, WPA, WPA-Enterprise); Cellular Security (GSM, 3G, LTE); Internet of Things / Wireless Sensor Networks / RFID
  • Emerging Privacy concerns: location, tracking, traffic analysis, mobile and the cloud.
  • Part II:
  • Wireless and Mobile as a Cyber Physical Infrastructure (CPS)
  • Denial of Service Attacks Cellular, WiFi, GPS
  • Implications to CPS: e.g., Electricity grid, Internet of Things
  • Part III:
  • Security of Mobile Computing Plaforms
  • Android and iOS security models
  • Threats and emerging solutions (e.g., side channel attacks)
  • Class Materials

    • [PDF] Wireless & Mobile Security -- an Introduction.
    • [PDF] Cryptographic Foundations of Network Security: Use & Misuse.

    Grading

    The course grade will be based on:

    • 16%: 4 quizzes
    • 30%: Two Presentations (1. Review of state of the art, 2. final presentation)
    • 50%: Project (30% design, implementation, and demo; 20% documentation + webpage)
    • 4%: Class participation