CSE409/509: (Intro to) System Security (Fall 2012)

CSE409/509: (Intro to) System Security (Fall 2012)

Course description: In this course we plan on having fun by studying computer security from a systems point of view. The course is composed of two parts: in the first part we do a bit of applied crypto and network security. In the second part we do more or less of the following: "Principles and practice of computer system security: Operating system security, Authentication and access control, Capabilities, Information flow, Program security, Database security, Cryptographic key management, Auditing, Assurance, Vulnerability analysis and intrusion detection." Course objectives are found here.

Likely to be included in the first part (not necessarily in this order): a bit of crypto (hash functions, single-key crypto, public key crypto, signatures, IND-CPA/CCA), protocols (key exchange, secret sharing/splitting, all kinds of signatures, mental poker, interactive zero knowledge proofs, oblivious transfer, certified mail, secure elections, SMC, digital cash)

We are not using any specific textbook. However, as a reference please feel free to look at any of the following:

The Craft of System Security by Sean Smith and John Marchesini
Applied Cryptography (Second Edition) by Bruce Schneier
Free: Security Engineering by Ross Anderson
Free: Handbook of Applied Cryptography by Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone
Practical Cryptography by Niels Ferguson and Bruce Schneier is a nice and easy introduction to security
Free: Hardcore crypto fans take a look at this
Free: Crypto Class at Stanford
This is a great (still) reference on firewalls: Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker, First Edition, William R. Cheswick and Steven M. Bellovin
http://www.cryptool.org/ - a free e-learning application that you can use to apply and analyze cryptographic algorithms
http://thehackernews.com

Times: 10:00-11:20 TUTH
Place: CSE 2120
Office Hours: 11:30-12:30 THU (CSE 1210) or by email appointment
Contact Info: cse509instructor @ cs (course-related questions are only answered through this account)
TA: Mirza Basim Baig (cse509ta@gmail.com) (project related questions go here)
TA Office Hours: WED 3-4pm (CSE 1210)
Mailing List: cse509@ cs

Evaluation and Schedule (this is orientative and these are subject to change): optional homeworks, quizzes, 2 projects, a midterm and a final. Grading criteria (subject to potentially significant changes): midterm (30%), final (40%), projects (25%) activity and quizzes (5%). I expect you to mostly come to class.

Note on undergraduate section: The undergraduate section follows the same material but will be given a different project, and will also be graded separately.

Important note on projects: Unless specified otherwise, projects are to be done in groups of 3 (very few exceptions for good reasons can be made). It is your responsibility to schedule a time-slot to show the project to the TA. Before the deadline, you are entitled to a no more than 15 minutes demo slot per project in which you have to show your working project. To encourage you to work on the projects early on and make good progress, any working project submitted before deadline is adding to your grade a number of percentage points (up to a max of 10% per project) proportional to the number of remaining weeks from the submission time to the actual deadline (bonus is computed as min(10,[deadline-today]/7) -- it can be fractional).

Approximate summary of lectures:

08/28	Introduction: What is security ? What isn't security ? Security by obscurity. Encryption. Hashes. View: The pleasure of finding things out - RP Feynman Read: Current Cryptogram, MD5 Slides: 01
08/30	Crypto: Crypto-hashes. Encryption (cont'd) Read: Encryption, Ciphers, crypto hashes Slides: 02
09/04	Labor Day (no class)
09/06	Crypto: public key crypto Read: Diffie Hellman, forward secrecy Read: discrete logarithm (read entries in section Algorithms also), Discrete logarithms in finite fields and their cryptographic significance (this last one is optional!!!) Slides: 03
09/11	Crypto: PKI, randomness, RSA Read: PKI, Certificate Authority, RNG Watch: How RSA Works Read: New directions in cryptography Slides: 03
09/13	Crypto: Ciphers, Semantic Security Read: ciphers, semantic security, IND-CPA Project 1 Description: here (due: 10/11, no extensions!) Optional: homework exercises (not graded but may be on midterm/final!) Slides: 04, 05
09/18	Software Security: Buffer Overflows (Invited Lecture: Prof. Rob Johnson) Read: Current Cryptogram, The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say) Read: Smashing The Stack For Fun And Profit Slides: no slides
09/20	Network Security: IPSec (Invited Lecture: Prof. Vyas Sekar) Read: IPSec, Trustwave issued a man-in-the-middle certificate Slides: 06 Office hours are held on 9/25 instead
09/25	Access Control: Access Control Matrix, ACLs, Capabilities Read: Access Control Matrix, Ron Was Wrong, Whit is Right! Slides: 07
09/27	Network Security: SSL (Invited Lecture: Prof. Vyas Sekar) Read: EFF: How Secure is HTTPS today?, SSL Optional: playing SSL Slides: 08 Office hours are held on 10/02 instead
10/02	Security Policies: Confidentiality/Integrity/Hybrid Policies, Bell-LaPadula, Biba, Clark-Wilson, Chinese Wall, RBAC Read: how to write buffer overflows Slides: 09, 10
10/04	Host Security: Isolation, Virtual Machines, Covert Channels, Reference Monitors Read: top 25 most dangerous programming mistakes Read: Virtual Machine, Reference Monitor Slides: 11, 12
10/09	Trusted Hardware: TPMs (Invited Lecture: Sumeet Bajaj) Read: TPM Reset Attack Read: Trusted Computing Slides: 13.tpm Project 2 Description: here (date extended due to Hurricane Sandy and project spec changes -- check link for updated date)
10/11	Software Security Revisited: Buffer Overflows, TOCTTOU, Software Fault Isolation Read: Beyond Stack Smashing: Recent Advances in Exploiting Buffer Overruns, Exploiting Format String Vulnerabilities Slides: 14
10/16	Midterm (in class)
10/18	Virtual Machines (invited lecture: Connor Fitzsimons) Read: QEMU, KVM Slides: VMs, VM.connor
10/23	Trusted Hardware: Secure CPUs Optional: Extracting a 3DES key from an IBM 4758 Read: Current Cryptogram Read: Building the IBM 4758 Secure Coprocessor Slides: hardware_tut_short02bx
10/25	Malware: Viruses, Worms, Trojans etc. Read: Malware Watch: Stuxnet: Deep Dive Slides: 16, 16.cis5372_10-malware
10/30	Cancelled Class (Hurricane Sandy)
11/01	Cancelled Class (Hurricane Sandy)
11/06	Malware: Viruses, Worms, Trojans etc. Read: Sapphire, Code Red Optional: Attacking Intel TXT, Attacking SMM Memory via Intel CPU Cache Poisoning
11/08	Authentication: Passwords, Biometrics Read: MythBusters break fingerprint locks, Keystroke Dynamics, Iris Recognition, Results from 200 billion iris cross-comparisons Optional: Palm vein biometric systems Slides: 17, radu.biometrics, stefan-biometr-intro
11/13	Storage Security: File System Encryption, EFS, EcryptFS, TCFS, Regulatory Compliant FS, WORM, etc. Read: eCryptfs: An Enterprise-class Cryptographic Filesystem for Linux Reference: FS-level encryption Slides: 18, 19.worm
11/15	Fun security enforcing OS constructs: HiStar Read: Making Information Flow Explicit in HiStar Slides: osdi2006-histar-slides
11/20	Trust Management: (Invited Lecture: Prof. Scott Stoller) Read: Current Cryptogram Slides: scott.trust-mgmt
11/22	Thanksgiving (no class)
11/27	Pizza and Security Discussion Day: SELinux, midterms Reference: Security-Enhanced Linux: User Guide Slides: selinux
11/29	Cloud Computing Security: Virtualization, Introspection, Cloud Cartography Read: Cloud Security Is Not (Just) Virtualization Security, Hey, You, Get Off of My Cloud! Slides: Cloud Security Is Not (Just) Virtualization Security, Hey, You, Get Off of My Cloud!
12/04	Virtualization Security: Side Channels, Rolling Stones continued Read: Cross-VM Side Channels and Their Use to Extract Private Keys Slides: slides
12/06	Recap Slides: slides
12/14	Final: 11:15-1:45pm (location: in class, unless otherwise announced)

Policy on seeing graded Exams/Homeworks: You can request to see a graded exam/homework only up to two weeks after it was graded. You should not come for re-grades at the end of the semester for homeworks graded in the beginning of the semester.

Policy on Missing Exams or Homeworks: Missing an exam/homework/project implies a grade of zero in that exam/homework/project, unless there is a properly documented reason (e.g., medical with documentation). Examples of non-valid reasons include oversleeping, forgetting, discretionary travel (travel whose timing is under your control, such as an interview trip), and a host of others. Such policy precedents are difficult for an instructor to deviate from without running the risk of being accused of "treating people unequally" ... etc, so I hope none of you will put me in that situation.

Ethics:

Note: If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact on your ability to carry out assigned course work, please contact the staff in the Disabled Student Services office (DSS), Room 133, Humanities, 632-6748v/TDD. DSS will review your concerns and determine with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation of disability are confidential.