Basic knowledge in security

The goal of this module is to provide a foundation in computer and network security.
Professional competences
The students:

• are aware of the threats posed by cyber attacks to computer and network systems
• understand the basic principles and mechanisms to protect a system against these threats
• are able to apply this knowledge to assess the risk of cyber attacks to a given system as well as to develop and evaluate countermeasures against them

Methodological competences
The students:

• carry out a threat and risk assessment
• formulate security requirements for a given system
• identify and apply standard security solutions to meet them (These are examples, the exact skills depend on the focus chosen by the student.)

Social competences
The students:

• are able to master a new topic by self-study and interaction with experts and peers
• are able to explain principles and applications of computer security to experts and non-experts
• are able to expertly discuss security risks and incidents

Self-competences
The students:

• follow up and critically assess current developments in computer security including security incidents
• are security aware in their own behaviour, in their assessment of the systems they work with, and those they develop

This module provides a broad and comprehensive knowledge in computer security. The topics cover threat analysis and attack trees, essential cryptographic tools, user authentication, access control, malware, intrusion detection and prevention, denial-of-service attacks and defences, software security and trusted systems, and network security. Students without prior knowledge in computer security focus on basic principles such as listed above. Students with prior knowledge in computer security can deepen their knowledge by studying real-world examples such as the SSL/TLS protocol. Typically, they will illustrate their topic by discussing a security incident reported in the public domain security news.

• Computer Security, Principles and Practice by William Stallings and Lawrie Brown, 3rd Edition, Pearson 2015
• Security Engineering by Ross Anderson, 2nd Edition, 2008

Associated with the module(s): Security of Cyber-Physical Systems

will be specified in class

Presentation and paper, oral exam, or exam (depending on the number of students)