CSE 4380.010 Information Security
CSE 4380/5380 is a technical elective Computer Science and Engineering course at the University of Texas at Arlington that explores the fundamentals of information security.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Use cryptographic primitives directly in order to understand their respective uses and how they work together to provide security.
- Develop simple malware in order to understand hooking and how hooking can be subverted for malicious purposes.
- Set up and use defensive and security testing technologies in the network and operating system in order to see how they defend against attacks.
- Exploit software vulnerabilities in order to understand how they work and how defenses could stop them.
- Study a range of concepts to gain a broad understanding of the field of information security.
- Apply class knowledge in a capture-the-flag simulation exercise at the end of the semester.
Info
Class Information
- Lecture
- Section 010 Fri 1:00 PM - 3:50 PM
- Location
- SWSH 104
- Course Syllabus
- Section 010: 1:00pm - 3:50PM
- Zoom Meeting
- 268 571 9880
- Slack
- cse4380.slack.com
- GitHub
- CSE4380 Spring 2025
Instructor
- Instructor
- Trevor Bakker (trevor.bakker@uta.edu)
- Office Hours
- Friday 8:30 AM - 11:30 PM, and by appointment
- Office Location
- 321 Engineering Research Building
Help Protocol
- Think
- Slack
- Think
- Think
- Office Hours
Teaching Assistants
- Teaching Assistant
- Bijay Bastakoti (bxb2270@mavs.uta.edu)
- Teaching Assistant
- Tong Chen (txc5603@mavs.uta.edu)
Office Hours
Online Office Hours
Online office hours will take place in Zoom Meeting 268 571 9880. Please use the main session for general questions. If you have an individual question, then request a private breakout room.
If you need more individualized attention, please contact the instructor to schedule an appointment.
Schedule
| Date | Topics | Assigned | Lab | Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 - Mon 01/13 - Fri 01/17 | Introduction Slides Introduction | |||
| Week 2 - Mon 01/20 - Fri 01/24 | Chapter 2 and 20 - Encryption | Pre-lab 1 | ||
| Week 3 - Mon 01/27 - Fri 01/31 | Chapter 13 - Trusted Computing | |||
| Week 4 - Mon 02/03 - Fri 02/07 | Chapter 14 - IT Security Management and Risk Assessment | System Categorization Assigned | ||
| Week 5 - Mon 02/10 - Fri 02/14 | Chapter 15 - IT Security Control, Plans, and Procedures | Lab 1 (Encryption) | ||
| Week 6 - Mon 02/17 - Fri 02/21 | Chapter 3 - Access Control and Chapter 4 - Access Control | Pre-lab 2 | ||
| Week 7 - Mon 02/24 - Fri 02/28 | Chaper 6 - Malicious Software and Chapter 7 - Denial-of-Service | Lab 2.1 (Network Security) | Security Control Selection, Attack Trees, Risk Assessment & Mitigation | |
| Week 8 - Mon 03/03 - Fri 03/07 | Mid-Term Exam | Lab 2.2 (Network Security) | ||
| Week 9 - Mon 03/10 - Fri 03/14 | Spring Break - No Class | |||
| Week 10 - Mon 03/17 - Fri 03/21 | Chapter 8 - Intrusion Detection and Chapter 9 - Firewalls | Pre-lab 3 | Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan | |
| Week 11 - Mon 03/24 - Fri 03/28 | Chapter 10 - Buffer Overflow and Chapter 11 - Software Security | Pre-lab 4 | ||
| Week 12 - Mon 03/31 - Fri 04/04 | Chapter 12 OS Security and Chapter 13 - Trusted Computing | Lab 3 (Malware) | ||
| Week 13 - Mon 04/07 - Fri 04/11 | Chapter 16 - Physical Security and Chapter 17 - Human Resources | Pre-lab 5 | Lab 4.1 (Buffer Overflows) | |
| Week 14 - Mon 04/14 - Fri 04/18 | Chapter 19 - Legal and Ethical Aspects | Lab 4.2 (Buffer Overflows) | System Security Plan and ATO Package | |
| Week 15 - Mon 04/21 - Fri 04/25 | TBD | Lab 5 (CTF) | ||
| Fri 05/02 | Final Exam |
Requirements
4380 Coursework
| Component | Points |
|---|---|
| Labs Labs | ( Prelabs 2% + Labs 3% ) * 5 Labs) = 25% |
| Project Labs | 25% |
| Mid-Term Mid-Term Exam. | 25% |
| Final Exam | 25% |
Grading
| Grade | Average |
|---|---|
| A | 90-100 |
| B | 80-89 |
| C | 70-79 |
| D | 60-69 |
| F | 0-59 |
Policies
Guide to the Honor Code
For the assignments in this class, you may discuss with other students and consult printed and online resources. You may not quote from books and online sources. You may not look at another student's solution, and you may not copy any portions of other's solutions. Furthermore, you may not utilize AI powered tools such as Co-Pilot, Tabnine, or ChatGPT for any of your programming assignments.
The following table summarizes how you may work with other students and use print/online sources:
| Resources | Solutions | AI Tools | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consulting | Allowed | Not Allowed | Not Allowed |
| Copying | Not Allowed | Not Allowed | Not Allowed |