Introduction to Information Security

· 2 min read
course

Class is inactive.

This class has been expanded and is now taught in the Master program.

The goal of this class is to expose students to the fundamental concepts of computer and communications security. The growing importance of networks and distributed systems, and their use to support safety-critical applications, has made computer and communications security a central issue for systems today. Additionally, the rise of social networks and location-based services has increased the amount of our personal data held by third parties significantly. It is therefore imperative that students know the technical foundations of computer and communications security, as well as the basic goals and mechanisms of privacy-aware data processing.

Contents

This course provides an overview of the available technologies for achieving security and privacy in an electronic world. Topics discussed include encryption; authentication; security protocols; computer, network, and web security; anonymity; and privacy enhancing technologies.

Teaching Mode

Two lectures per week with weekly homework and reading assignments, interspersed with individual lab sessions that discuss homework and provide hands-on experience with developing security solutions.

References
  • William Stalling: Cryptography and Network Security – Principles and Practices, 57th Ed., Pearson Intl., 2011.

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

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

Class Semester Instructor Teaching Assistant(s) Introduction to Information Security 2014 Spring - - Introduction to Information Security 2013 Spring - - Introduction to Information Security 2012 Spring - - Introduction to Information Security 2011 Spring - - Introduction to Information Security 2010 Spring - -

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.