/// Goals of the course ///
At the end of the course, students will be able to
* analyze the technical merits of specific developments within the field of IT-security,
* substantiate their analyses using existing and scientific documented knowledge,
* clearly write up those analyses in a concise scientific report, and
* further develop an attitude in which being able to clearly explain matters is geared to optimize the quality of feedback.

/// Course contents ///
The course contents consist of studying and assessing a specific topic in the field of IT-security. There will be multiple topics, and each topic is to be tackled by an individual student. Students will be handed out material such as scientific articles to help them understand the topic at hand. Part of the course consists of discovering additional material. Students will dig deep into the selected topic. Students will present their analyses and findings in two ways: in a concise scientific report as well as in a 20 min. presentation, which is followed by a discussion and a round of feedback. In the start of the course, all available topics will be introduced to the students so that they can pick a for them suitable topic.

/// Assessment ///
Students will be assessed on the basis of their written scientific report (high weight), their presentation and consequent discussion (medium to high weight), and the general process (low weight; includes: independence, planning, active involvement, …)

/// Topics ///
* Malicious software
* Security operations centers and their performance
* Weaknesses of the RSA cryptosystem
* Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs)
* Online tracking methods and countermeasures
* Privacy in instant messaging
* Privacy metrics and ways to achieve certain privacy levels
* Your own topic

More details will follow.