CSE 227: Graduate Computer Security Autumn 2023

Lectures:

  Tuesday/Thursday 11:00am-12:20pm WLH 2204

Instructor:

  Earlence Fernandes   Office hours: Tuesday 1.30pm-2.30pm at CSE 3244

TA:

  Alisha Ukani, Office Hours: Wednesday 11am-12pm CSE 3109.

Class Resources:
Grading:

  80%: Course research project
  10%: Paper responses
  10%: Project presentation

Course Overview

This course is on graduate-level computer security, focusing on the software systems foundations of building secure computer systems. We will read a mix of classic and new papers in the field and will cover a range of topics from trusted computing, operating systems, web/cloud systems, and machine learning. Our goal is to illustrate research challenges and solutions. It is not designed to be a tutorial course, but rather to give students the context to understand current security research and evaluate their interest in the field. The course will examine both the defensive and offensive side of the field. At the conclusion of the course, the students will have the foundation to conduct research in computer security and to apply the latest security research to a particular area of practice. Note to undergrad and professional MS students: This course is research heavy. It is unlike other courses you've encountered in your career where there are a fixed set of topics with exams and specific skills to learn. Rather, we will be reading papers and discussing/analyzing those papers. Your primary performance will be based on your ability to formulate and tackle research problems in computer security.

Pandemic Considerations

This is an in person class. Please do not come to class or exams if you are sick. I will handle requests for remote attendance on a case-by-case basis and I may not grant all requests.

Schedule

Note: Contents more than 1 week into the future is subject to minor changes.

Research Project

You will work on projects in groups of 2-4. The goal of the project is to conduct original research in Computer Security. You are encouraged to come up with your own project idea, but we have a few ideas that are well-scoped for a quarter project. Talk with me to scope out a project. The project will require a 1-page project proposal containing: (1) What problem you are tackling; (2) Why that problem is worth tackling; (3) The expected contributions to the science of computer security. This will be due by the second or third week of the quarter. At the end of the quarter, you are expected to turn in a short research paper (max 6 pages; two column format) and give a 15 minute talk. We will have periodic status updates to help you stay on track. The project is 80% of your course grade. I recommend that you take this seriously from the start. I especially value projects that are publication-worthy.

Paper responses

We will have up to 2 papers per session. You have to read these in detail and should come prepared to discuss the paper. Your goal is to be able to perform a critical evaluation of the following: (1) what is the problem area of the paper; (2) Why is that problem area important; (3) What is the paper's approach; (4) Did the paper do a good job solving the problem; (5) What is the broader context/related work within which this paper's contributions exist; (6) Your thoughts on future work. We will use an online system, called HotCRP to manage your responses.

Paper presentation

If you are a PhD or MS student, you will be expected to lead a paper's discussion. I expect you to read any background material that might be relevant and to come prepared to briefly summarize the paper (10-15 minutes) and then lead a discussion that analyzes the paper critically.

By taking this course, you implicitly agree to abide by the UCSD policies on Integrity of Scholarship and Student Conduct. See the Academic Integrity Support for Remote Learning. University rules on integrity of scholarship and code of conduct are taken seriously and will be enforced.