inf420 - Introduction to IT-Security (Complete module description)

Students understand the basic concepts, methods and protocols for protecting data and systems from manipulation and misuse on a basic, practice-oriented, scientific level (see "contents of the module"). The students can explain the causes of security problems in today's systems, can reproduce the connections between protection mechanisms and the problems they address, and can apply them to case studies. They can identify vulnerabilities, analyze them and understand the attack mechanisms described. In addition, the students are able to discuss possible solutions and are able to protect systems accordingly.

Professional competence
The students

•  understand the semantics of security and explain the properties of secure IT systems (see "contents of the module"),
• discuss the importance of IT security, and
• carry out simple security analyses of systems.

Methological competence

The students

• use concepts and techniques to increase security, in particular regarding which protection goals can be achieved with which techniques (see "contents of the module"),
• apply mechanisms of IT security in simple scenarios, and
• question the properties and limits of security concepts and combine different concepts in a meaningful way.

Social competence

The students

• solve problems partially in small groups and thus improve their willingness to cooperate and their communication skills,
• present solutions to IT security problems in front of the exercise group,
• discuss their different solutions within the exercise group, and
• improve their English language skills.

Self-competence
The students

• motivate themselves to work on questions and problems in the domain of IT security,
• justify their own actions with theoretical and methodical knowledge, and
• critically reflect on proposed solutions in relation to social expectations and consequences, taking into account the methods taught.

The course provides a broad introduction to IT security, covering the following topics:

• basic terms, concepts, and principles in IT security,
• major cryptographic building blocks (encryption, signatures, ...),
• access control models and mechanisms,
• authentication and key exchange protocols,
• network security basics,
• anonymous communication (including TOR), and
• basics of privacy protection.

• C. Eckert. IT-Sicherheit: Konzepte – Verfahren – Protokolle. 10th edition. De Gruyter Oldenbourg, ISBN 978-3-110-58468-4, 2018
• P. van Oorschot. Computer Security and the Internet. 2nd edition. Springer, ISBN 978-3-030-83410-4, 2021
• R. Anderson. Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems. 2nd edition. Wiley, ISBN 978-0470068526, 2008

Written or oral exam

The concretely chosen form of examination will be announced in the first week of the course.