Information Security, Second Course

Aim

The course provides deeper studies in selected topics in the area of information security. After passing the course, a student should be able to:

• General goals: Explain and use the security terminology and security principles presented at the course. Identify and explain in detail the security threats against a certain system, in a given context; identify vulnerabilities of systems, and formulate security requirements. Analyze and structure a given security problem. Find, evaluate, and explain in detail solutions to security problems, in general and in specific contexts. Synthesize partial solutions towards addressing given security problems. Generalize and synthesize information from multiple types of sources in the information security area to find structure, internal and external connections, and draw original and well-motivated conclusions. Map abstract concepts and models to real security problems and mechanisms, and vice versa.
• Project specific goals: Identify, motivate, analyze, and structure the problems to be addressed in the project. Find, evaluate, and explain solutions to problems identified in the project. Use and understand the equipment (hardware and software) needed to perform the project. Apply existing security tools to address a given problem, and develop new tools and mechanisms. Find, synthesize, and present information from multiple types of sources in the information security area to find structure, internal and external connections, and make original and well-motivated conclusions. Present project results to an audience with similar general background in information security. Plan, follow up, and document the project work.

Content

• Part 1: This part deals with theory and is based on lectures and a literature study. The detailed contents can vary from year to year based on the current research in the field and the ongoing research at LiU. Topics may include: security mechanisms for modern communication systems (e.g. fingerprinting and watermarking), network security (e.g. security in IEEE 802.11), system and software integrity (e.g. covert channels, buffer overflow, and viruses), modern identification and authentication mechanisms (e.g. biometric authentication), security standards (e.g. Common Criteria) and analysis methodologies (e.g. Fault Tree Analysis), and standards and common implementations in the field (e.g. access control in Radio Access Networks).
• Part 2: In this part students will perform projects, which can be of theoretical or practical nature. The subjects of the projects will be from the topics studied in part 1 or other topics within the field.