ECE 4560 - Computer and Network Security Fundamentals (3C)

This course introduces fundamental security principles and real-world applications of Internet and computer security. Topics covered in the course include legal and privacy issues, risk analysis, attack and intrusion detection concepts, system log analysis, intrusion detection and packet filtering techniques, computer security models, computer forensics, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Past experiences have shown us that security mechanisms of a given system or network must be properly designed from the very beginning, and not added on as an afterthought. If the required security mechanisms are not carefully integrated into the target system/network a priori to deployment, potential security breaches can inflict enormous damage. To design, deploy, and manage secure systems/networks, one needs the ability to understand core security concepts, analyze the security vulnerabilities of the system/network, and design necessary countermeasures to these threats. This course provides requisite knowledge of fundamental security concepts and their applications that are needed by students who plan to take more advanced graduate courses in network/computer security. Moreover, it provides pre-requisite knowledge to graduate students that have not been exposed to similar topics while attending other institutions as undergraduate students. Note that the computer industry is constantly in need of computer engineering graduates that have an understanding of computer/network security fundamentals.