General Information

Instructor

Matt Bishop
Office hours: TuTh 10:00AM-11:00AM Pacific Coast time, or by appointment
Office: 3059 Engineering Unit II
Phone: (530) 752-8060
Email: bishop@cs.ucdavis.edu
WWW: http://seclab.cs.ucdavis.edu/~bishop
Note: Please put ECS 253 - URGENT in the subject of all email to help me see it quickly!

Lectures

TuTh 1:30PM-3:00PM in Room 1070, Banier Hall

Course Outline

Elements of cryptography and data security; system security, and network security. Both theory and applications will be covered, but theory will be emphasized.

Course Goals

Some goals we hope you achieve:
  1. learn the importance of computer security;
  2. understand how to use cryptography in support of security services;
  3. learn the basic theory and practise of secure systems;
  4. understand the types of security services needed for network security; and
  5. analyze or survey some aspect of computer security and cryptography in depth.

Text

We will be using draft chapters of a book in preparation (Computer Security: Art and Science). These will be handed out in class.

Computer Programs

The homework assignments, and your project, may require computer programs. Any computer programs written for this class must be well documented, cleanly written, and have a manual page or write-up describing how to use it, its input, and its output. Include sample runs. If you have C or C++ available, I would prefer you use one of those; if not, please check with me.

Course Web Page, Handouts, and Newsgroup

The web page http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~cs253" contains links to all course handouts (except for the published/ copyrighted papers).
Because we have some students without access to the UC Davis campus newsgroups, information about this class, homework assignments, office hours, and so forth, will be posted to the web page as well as to the ucd.class.ecs253 newsgroup. Read this newsgroup (or web page) daily, especially near the time assignments are due. You are responsible for everything posted. This newsgroup is not for discussion about the class, for but information from the instructor to you.
If you want to post things about the class, please use the discussion newsgroup ucd.class.ecs253.d., or send the instructor a mail message asking that something be posted. Discussing something in this group is perfectly fair!
Postings from both newsgroups will be copied to the web page regularly.

Homework

There will be 5 homework assignments. The due date will be on each assignment. I will try to have your homework graded as quickly as possible, usually within three class periods after I receive it.
Because this is a graduate class, we'll begin with no penalty for late homework. (I reserve the right to change this if I feel students are falling behind.) This class covers a lot of material very quickly, and if you delay you will probably fall too far behind to catch up easily. So don't delay - do the homework on time!
Some general notes: if you handwrite your homework, please write legibly. If I can't read your answer, or understand it, it's wrong. Please think your answers through before writing them down in final form; a request for a proof requires a proof, not a statement that "it's probably right, and here are 15,000 examples to show it;" a request for a discussion should be treated as an essay question, with a main theme and arguments for and against the answer. It is fair to present the factors that affect your answer; it is not acceptable to begin by giving one answer in the introduction and a different answer in the conclusion! (Yes, you'll lose points.) And, always show your work; if you simply write down a correct answer and do not show how you got that answer, you will not get any credit.

Project

This class requires a term project requiring you to do outside reading, or apply what we've learned in class to a realistic situation, or extend your knowledge beyond what is done in class. The project is an integral part of the course, because it demonstrates you've learned enough to go beyond what we talked about in class. The section describes the requirements in some detail and suggests possible projects, as well as the required intermediate reports.

Grading

50% Homework
50% Project
Note that there are no exams.

Recommended Reading

  1. Edward Amoroso, Fundamentals of Computer Security Technology, Prentice-Hall (c)1994
    Covers many topics but with little depth. This provides a very good overview of the subject, but you need to follow the references to appreciate much of what is said.
  2. Edward Amoroso, Intrusion Detection: An Introduction to Internet Surveillance, Correlation, Trace Back, Traps, and Response, Intrusion.net Books (c)1999.
    An excellent introduction to one of the most exciting fields of computer security. If you're interested in this area, this book is a "must read."
  3. Dorothy Denning, Cryptography and Data Security, Addison-Wesley (c)1984
    Perhaps the best computer security text written so far; its only problem is being very out of date. Much of the cryptography is drawn from this book. If you can get a copy of it, I strongly encourage you to do so; it's a wonderful text.
  4. Helen Fouché Gaines, Cryptanalysis: a Study of Ciphers and their Solution, Dover Publications, (c)1956.
    A classic on cracking transposition and substitution ciphers, it does not cover more modern cryptography, but it shows the basics of cryptanalysis in a non-mathematical way.
  5. Simpson Garfinkel and Gene Spafford, Practical UNIX and Internet Security, O'Reilly & Associates, (c)1996.
    A marvelous book on UNIX security. Don't look for deep principles here; this book is a practicum.
  6. Morrie Gasser, Building a Secure Computer System, Van Nostrand Reinhold, (c)1985
    "The" book for practical and theoretical considerations in the design of a secure computer system. Not too rigorous, but quite comprehensive.
  7. Katie Hafner and John Markoff, Cyberpunk, Simon & Schuster, (c)1991.
    This book describes three of the better-known computer security incidents and the people behind them. It's not too technical, but a good study of hackers.
  8. Lance J. Hoffman, Rogue Programs: Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses, Van Nostrand Reinhold, (c)1990.
    A collection of papers about malicious programs; the section on social and legal issues is very interesting,
  9. David Kahn, The Codebreakers, Second Edition, Macmillan (c)1996.
    Truly a classic, this book combines history with some basic cryptanalysis to show the evolution of codes and ciphers. This is the unabridged version, recently updated and re-released.
  10. Alan Konheim, Cryptography: A Primer, John Wiley and Sons (c)1981.
    Probably the best book yet on cryptanalysis; it does not have as much depth as Meyer and Matyas' book on some subjects (such as the DES), but it is much broader in scope. Beware of the notation, though: this can be a very hard book to understand!
  11. Carl Meyer and Stephen Matyas, Cryptography: A New Dimension in Computer Data Security, John Wiley and Sons, (c)1982.
    A very complete study of modern cryptography; the chapter on the DES is excellent.
  12. National Research Council, Computers at Risk: Safe Computing in the Information Age, National Academy Press, (c)1991.
    A study of how national policy should reflect problems, and advances, in computer security.
  13. Donn Parker, Crime by Computer, Charles Scribner's Sons (c)1976.
    Good discussion of what can happen if you ignore security considerations; it also considers ethics, something rarely seen but very badly needed.
  14. Wayne Patterson, Mathematical Cryptography for Computer Scientists and Mathematicians, Rowman and Littlefield, (c)1987.
    Highly mathematical, up-to-date treatment of many ciphers. Watch out for typographical errors and switches in notation, though!
  15. Bruce Schneier, Applied Cryptography, Second Edition, John Wiley and Sons, (c)1996.
    This book is a good but non-rigorous introduction to cryptography. The first edition had loads of errors, but (I am told) this version has eliminated most of them.
  16. Abraham Sinkov, Elementary Cryptanalysis: A Mathematical Approach, The Mathematical Association of America, (c)1966.
    A readable yet mathematical account of substitution and transposition ciphers.

Academic Integrity

Please see the Winter 1999 Class Schedule and Room Directory for a general discussion of this. In particular, for this course: A good analogy between appropriate discussion and inappropriate collaboration is the following: you and a fellow student work for competing software companies developing different products to meet a given specification. You and your competitor might choose to discuss product specifications and general techniques employed in your products, but you certainly would not discuss or exchange proprietary information revealing details of your products. Ask the instructor for clarification beforehand if the above rules are not clear.

Syllabus

#DateTopic, Readings, and Other Information
1.Thursday, January 7Introduction to Computer Security
Reading: text, chapter 1.
2.Tuesday, January 12A Quick Tour of Cryptography
Reading: text, chapter 2.1.
3. Thursday, January 14Foundations Part 1
Reading: text, chapter 5
4.Tuesday, January 19Foundations Part II
Reading: text, chapter 6.1-6.3
5.Thursday, January 21Security Policies
Reading: text, chapter 7
6.Tuesday, January 26Bell-LaPadula Model
Reading: text, chapter 8
7.Thursday, January 28Integrity Models
Reading: text, chapter 9, 10.1
8.Tuesday, February 2Other Models: ORCON, Role-Based, Non-Interference
Reading: text, chapter 10.2-10.4, 11
9.Thursday, February 4Access Control
Reading: text, chapter 13
-.Tuesday, February 9no class (SANS Intrusion Detection Conference)
-.Thursday, February 11no class (SANS Intrusion Detection Conference)
-.Tuesday, February 16no class (NRC Review Panel for NIST Computer Security program)
10.Thursday, February 18Covert Channels
Reading: text, chapter 14
11.Tuesday, February 23Formal Methods
Reading: text, chapter 15.1-15.3
12.Thursday, February 25Informal Methods: Property-Based Testing
Reading: text, chapter 15.4
13.Tuesday, March 2Designing and Building Secure Systems
Reading: text, chapters 16, 18
14.Thursday, March 4Vulnerability Analysis
Reading: text, chapter 19
15.Tuesday, March 9Auditing and Intrusion Detection
Reading: text, chapters 17, 20
16.Thursday, March 11Network Security
Reading: text, chapter 21
17.Tuesday, March 16Security in Programming
Reading: text, chapter 28

We may schedule make-up classes for the three that I will miss. The exact date and time of the make-up classes depends upon the schedule of class members (all must agree to the dates and times!).

Projects

Why a Project?

This course covers a very large discipline, and - perhaps more so than many other areas of computer science - the discipline of computer security runs through many other areas. Because the class has a very limited amount of time, we will only touch the surface of many topics. The project gives you an opportunity to explore one of these topics, or some other area or application of computer security that interests you, in some depth.

The specific goal of the project is to produce a paper. The paper may document software (or hardware) work, so you may choose that kind of project. The paper must either be of publishable quality, or be publishable should some (small amount) of additional work be done.

Suggestions for How to Proceed

First, choose a topic. Good ways to find a topic are to think about an area of computer science you enjoy, and try to relate it to computer security (or vice versa); talk to some other graduate students and see if what they are doing suggests any ideas; think of ways security of the system you're working on could be made better; go to the library and browse for an interesting-looking paper; and so forth. The major computer security journals are Computers & Security and Journal of Computer Security, but articles appear in almost all journals; the major conferences are Crypto and Eurocrypt (for cryptography), Symposium on Research in Security and Privacy, National Computer Security Conference, and the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference. If you need more help or have questions, feel free to talk to me.

Some Suggestions for Project and Report Topics

The following are just to get you thinking. You will need to do much refinement for each!

What Is Due When

Tuesday, January 19
By this time you should have chosen your project. Turn in a 2-3 page write-up of what you want to do, and why; list several sources, and describe how you plan to go about completing the project.
(10% of your project grade)

Tuesday, February 1
By this time your project should be well underway. Turn in a detailed outline or design document. Be specific about what you are doing, how, and what you expect (hope!) will be the result. Motivation is important; why should anyone other than you care about your result?
(30% of your project grade)

Wednesday, March 17
Your completed project is due.
(60% of your project grade)

You can get this document in ASCII text, Framemaker+SGML version 5.5, PDF (for Acrobat 3.0 or later), or Postscript.
Send email to cs253@csif.cs.ucdavis.edu.

Department of Computer Science
University of California at Davis
Davis, CA 95616-8562


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