IST 451: Network Security

University Park

Spring 2005

 

Tentative Syllabus

Class Time

Tu & Th 9:45 a.m.- 11:00 a.m.

Class Room

Room 206 IST Bldg.

 

Instructor

Peng Liu, Ph.D.

Office

 313G IST Building

Office Hours

Tuesdays 3:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. or by appointment

Phone / Fax

(814) 863-0641 / 865-6426

E-mail

pliu@ist.psu.edu

 

 

TA

Hai Wang and Kun Bai

Office

Room 305, IST Building

Office Hours

During lab hours

Phone

TBA

E-mail

haiwang@ist.psu.edu & kbai@ist.psu.edu

 

Course Overview:
 

IST 451 is an introductive course on network security. Its objective is to provide the students with a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental issues and concepts of network security, and the mainstream network security technologies and protocols that are widely used in the real world. The course will cover the following topics:

 

  • Topic 1 – Security Fundamentals: Importance of network security; network attacks; intrusion and penetration; and network security policy.
  • Topic 2 - Firewall Technologies: TCP/IP and Internet services; introduction to firewalls; packet filtering; and firewall architectures.
  • Topic 3 – VPN Technologies and IPSEC: VPN architectures; remote access via VPN; IPSEC protocols; VPN configuration
  • Topic 4 – Network Intrusion Detection: Importance of intrusion detection; signature-based network intrusion detection; intrusion detector configuration; alert analysis
  • Topic 5 – Encryption: Symmetric key encryption; DES; public key encryption; RSA

 

These topics will not only be covered by lectures, but also by several hands-on attack-defense labs, which will be performed by each group of students at the IST Network Security Teaching Lab. More details about these hands-on labs can be found in the Hands-On Labs page.

 

In addition, these 5 topics will be synthesized through a multi-phase term project. More details about the term project can be found in the Term Project page.

 

The prerequisite for the course is: Students taking this course should already have a good understanding about data communications and computer networks. If you are an undergraduate student, you have to finish at least 70 credits.

 

Course Objectives:
 

The learning objectives of this course are:

(1) To understand the fundamental concepts and issues of network security.

(2) To understand the mainstream network security technologies and protocols.

(3) To understand how real world networks are attacked.

(4) To be able to apply the learned network security technologies and protocols to defend against a set of widely known network attacks.

 

Course Materials:

Required Textbook: None

 

References:

  • William Stallings, Cryptography and Network Security: Principles and Practice (3rd Edition), Prentice-Hall, 2002. ISBN 0-13-091429-0.
  • C. Kaufman, R. Perlman, M. Speciner, Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World, Prentice Hall, 1995.
  • Schneier, B., Applied Cryptography, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1996.
  • S. Goldwasser and M. Bellare, Lecture Notes on Cryptography
  • William R. Cheswick and Steven M. Bellovin, Firewalls and Internet Security, Addison-Wesley, 1994. ISBN 0-201-63357-4.
  • Chapman, D.B., Zwicky, E. D., Building Internet Firewalls, O'Reilly & Associates, 1995.
  • S. L. Garfinkel, E. H. Spafford, Practical Unix & Internet Security, O'Reilly and Associates Inc., 1996.
  • Dieter Gollmann, Computer Security, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1999, ISBN 0-471-97844-2.

Examinations and Assignments:

 

This course will have:

  • 13 quizzes (but only the 10 best scored quizzes will be counted). Each quiz will take 25 minutes. A quiz may include three types of questions: multiple choices, true or false, and short answers. A tentative schedule for the quizzes can be found in the Course Schedule page.  
  • 10 hands-on labs. All the labs will be done in the IST Network Security Teaching Lab. No lab report is required.
  • 10 homeworks. Each hands-on lab will be associated with a homework that asks several questions about the lab. Each homework is typically due in 7 days after the lab is done.
  • 1 term project. The term project is about providing a systematic security solution to a large scale Internet enterprise. The term project has 5 phases; and each phase will result in a document. Finally, each team should do a comprehensive presentation about the whole project. More details of the term project can be found in the Term Project page.

 

Grading:

Quizzes

40%

Homeworks

20%

Term project

30%

Class participation

10%

Total

100%

 

 

Course Policies:

 

Classes, Exams, and Assignments:

 

·        Quizzes: There will be NO make-up quizzes unless an official excuse (document) is submitted and pre-approved by the instructor.

·        Submissions: Email submissions will NOT be accepted. They will be discarded when received. Hard copy submissions are required.   

·        Late Policy: Starting right after the required submission date of every assignment, 20% of the grade will be deducted per day up to two days. NO points will be given to submissions more than two days late. A documented chronic condition which could affect this policy must be immediately brought to the attention of the instructor.

·        Attendance: Attendance of students to all classes is highly recommended. Each student is responsible for his/her missed classes and quizzes.

·        Readings: Some sections in the course materials will be assigned as reading materials. Students are expected to read the materials that will be discussed in the class before the class meeting.

 

Academic Integrity: 

·        According to the Penn State Principles and University Code of Conduct: Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at Penn State University, allowing the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner.  In according with the University’s Code of Conduct, you must not engage in or tolerate academic dishonesty.  This includes, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person, or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students.

·        Any violation of academic integrity will be investigated, and where warranted, punitive action will be taken.  For every incident when a penalty of any kind is assessed, a report must be filed.  This form is used for both undergraduate and graduate courses.  This report must be signed by both the instructor and the student, and then submitted to the senior associate dean, Joe Lambert.

 

Affirmative Action & Sexual Harassment: 

·        The Pennsylvania State University is committed to a policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by Commonwealth or Federal authorities.  Penn State does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, gender, sexual orientation, or veteran status.  Direct all inquiries to the Affirmative Action Office, 211 Willard Building.

 

Americans with Disabilities Act:

·        IST welcomes persons with disabilities to all of its classes, programs, and events.  If you need accommodations, or have questions about access to buildings where IST activities are held, please contact us in advance of your participation or visit.  If you need assistance during a class, program, or event, please contact the member of our staff or faculty in charge.

 

An Invitation to Students with Learning Disabilities: 

·        It is Penn State’s policy to not discriminate against qualified students with documented disabilities in its educational programs.  If you have a disability-related need for modifications in your testing or learning situation, your instructor should be notified during the first week of classes so that your needs can be accommodated.  You will be asked to present documentation from the Office of Disability Services (located in 116 Bouclé Building, 863-1807) that describes the nature of your disability and the recommended remedy.  You may refer to the Nondiscrimination Policy in the Student Guide to University Policies and Rules.