CPTR 541

This page provides hints, insights and direction for the graduate class in Network Security.

Research Resources

When doing research it helps to know where to look. Dr. Gu does a nice job of rating security conferences that you might want to research from. IEEE S & P and ACM's Conference on Computer and Communications Security top the list and are good candidates to watch.

Research Assignment

You will be required to find and present two peer-reviewed papers in this class. The first must introduce a new attack or attack technique. The second paper must deal with privacy issues inside the US. A third presentation presentation will be of your own research. You might implement a method of attach to provide new proof of concept code, or research specific activities related to personal privacy compromised by companies or governments that may be illegal in other countries or protected by the US constitution.

Homework Assignments

1. Research:
   1. Use peer reviewed articles in ACM/IEEE etc., to find the conditions necessary to "more easily" attack the RSA algorithm. What known attacks exist against RSA?
   2. Determine if there exists known attacks against AES. Do we consider AES to be secure?
   3. What attacks exist against hash algorithms? What algorithms are not considered secure?
2. Install Backtrack on your system. Let me know if you need a virtual machine for this. Write a planning and scope document that covers the issues from Chapter 1. Make sure to cover all your bases for this document. You may collaborate to write this document as a class.
3. Use the techniques covered in Chapter 2 to
   1. RECON both cs.southern.edu and scotnpatti.com - make sure you follow the ROE agreed upon in the previous assignment.
   2. Find a willing personal target and profile that person to discover what you can about them online.

Common Vocabulary and Acronyms

• ROE = Rules of Engagement