Instructor: Guevara Noubir, email: noubir AT ccs DOT neu DOT edu, phone: (617) 373 5205, office: 238 West Village H.

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

Time/Location: Wednesdays 6:00pm-9:00pm, 108 West Village H.

Office Hours: Wed 1:00-3:00 PM.

Teaching Assistant: Tim Morgan, tmorgan@ccs.neu.edu

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/CSG254/S06. 

Previous years home page: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/noubir/Courses/CSG254/S05.

Prerequisites: Fundamentals of Computer Networks or Internetworking course.

Course schedule: HTML.

Course Description: This course provides a graduate-level introduction to networks security.

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

Here is a list of books for students interested in learning more about the network security and cryptography.

Some useful links.

Grading: The course grade will be based on :

• 3 problem sets on network security theoretical concepts (25%), 

• Midterm exam (40%),

• 3 laboratory assignments [out of 5] (15%)

• Report and final competition (20%).

Problem sets:  PS1, PS2, PS3.

Solutions sketch: PS1 [PDF], PS2 [PDF], PS3 [PDF].

Lab assignments: LA1 [HTML], LA2 [HTML], LA3 [HTML], LA4 [HTML], LA5 [HTML].

Lab and competition location: Laboratory assignments and final competition will be carried out on the VMware Virtual Network.

Notes:

• Out of the 5 lab assignments, the first one is required, then LA2 or LA3, finally LA4 or LA5. Teams who choose to do more than three laboratory assignments will get bonus points.
• Please keep in mind that the lab assignments can be incremental and will help you prepare for the competition.
• 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.

Midtem: The midtem will take place on March 15th. 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 is provided in [Course-Overview]. The homeworks will help the teams to prepare for the competition by gradually building a secure network.