Information Security

· 2 min read
course

This class exposes students to the fundamental concepts of computer security and network security. The growing importance of networks and distributed systems, and their use to support safety-critical applications, has made computer and communication security a central issue for systems today. The class is built on three main parts: security foundations (which includes security terminology, core cryptograhic principles, and secure protocols); applied security (which discusses software security and web security); and privacy (which covers both technical and social aspects of privacy). Students learn to critically assess the security properties of a system and make informed decisions about implementing secure processes. A somewhat shorter version of this class (Introduction to Information Security) was previously taught in the Bachelor program.

Teaching Mode

Two lectures per week with weekly homework and reading assignments, interspersed with lab sessions that allow students to gain basic knowledge in information security.

References

Required:

  • Cryptography and Network Security – Principles and Practices; William Stalling; 7th Ed., Pearson Intl., 2016

Supplemental Reading:

Additional handouts will be provided as needed, e.g., from:

  • Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World; Charlie Kaufman, Radia Perlman, Mike Speciner; 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, 2002
  • Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems; Ross Anderson; 2nd Ed., Wiley, 2008
Editions

Class Semester Instructor Teaching Assistant(s) Information Security 2023 Spring Marc Langheinrich - Information Security 2022 Spring Marc Langheinrich - Information Security 2021 Spring Marc Langheinrich - Information Security 2020 Spring Marc Langheinrich - Information Security 2019 Spring Marc Langheinrich - Information Security 2018 Spring Marc Langheinrich - Information Security 2017 Spring Marc Langheinrich - Information Security 2016 Spring Marc Langheinrich -

USI Search Directory: http://search.usi.ch/courses?q=information+security

Course
Silvia Santini
Authors
Silvia Santini
Professor
Silvia Santini is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Informatics of USI since September 2016, where she co-leads the People-Centered Computing Lab together with Prof. Marc Langheinrich. From July 2014 until August 2016 she held an Associate Professor position at TU Dresden, where she led the Embedded Systems Lab. From October 2011 until July 2014 she was an Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of TU Darmstadt, Germany, where she led the Wireless Sensor Networks Lab. From 2009 until 2011 she was a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Friedemann Mattern’s Distributed Systems Group at ETH Zurich, and from November 2010 until February 2011 she joined Leonidas Guibas’s research group at Stanford University as a visiting scholar. Silvia completed her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Friedemann Mattern at ETH Zurich in 2009, and graduated in Telecommunication Engineering (with honors) from the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, in May 2004.