CS 8803 SS: Software Security
Spring 2009
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Please expect slight changes to occur to the course schedule and readings during the semester. These changes will provide focus on topics of interest that may arise during earlier classes and will not be made maliciously.
CS 8803-SS is an advanced graduate reading seminar covering topics in software security. This course is suitable for senior grad students interested in pursuing a research agenda in this area.
There is no textbook for this class. Each week, we will read and discuss two to three classical and current research papers investigating aspects of software security, including attacks, reverse engineering, intrusion detection, and infection remediation. I expect students to read each paper prior to class, to write a short summary and response, and to participate in the seminar discussion of the paper. Students should be comfortable reading and analyzing academic research publications.
This course includes programming using C and x86 assembly as well as x86 binary code analysis. I expect students in the course to be proficient in these languages and will not provide background instruction in C or x86.
Instructor
Dr. Jon Giffin
Email: giffin@cc
Phone: 4/385-1060
Office: Klaus 3140
Office hours: M 2:00–3:00 (immediately after class)
Meetings
CCB 101
1:05–1:55 MWF
Textbook
There is no textbook for this class. See the schedule page for clickable links to PDFs for the publications that we will cover during the semester.
Class Participation and Attendance
This is a topics class where we discuss research papers as a small group in each seminar, and it works most effectively when you attend and actively participate in the discussions. A significant portion of the grade in the course is dependent upon daily participation. You can only participate if you attend, so a failure to show up will hurt your participation grade. Excused absences include travel to conferences if you are traveling on one or more class days. Upcoming paper deadlines are not excused absences: please plan your schedule to fit both class and paper writing. (Also unexcused: inlaws in town, cooking peas, washing socks, ...)
In class, engagement will take several forms:
- You will be expected to read, summarize, and analyze research publications.
- You will be expected to critique the perspectives and opinions of both authors and classmates during discussion.
If you are unable to attend class, notify me by email before class for consideration of an excused absence. Unexcused absenses will be factored into your grade.
Personal Technology
Laptops
Students with access to laptops may use them in class at their discretion. Audio should be silenced, and you should not be wearing earphones. If I or other students find your laptop use distracting, we may ask you to close it for the rest of class. Please keep in mind that heavy laptop use during discussion may lessen your participation.
Cell Phones & Handheld Computers
Cell phones are very distracting in class. All cell phones should be silenced or powered off for all seminar sessions. If you forget and your phone rings, please silence the ringer as soon as possible. If you believe a call is urgent, you may step outside to answer. It is extremely rude to answer a cell phone in class.
Music Players
iPods and similar products should not be used in class.
General Assignment Guidelines
The most important thing in any assignment is to show that you have thought about the topic and gained some understanding.
Technical Format
All written assignments must be prepared using a word processor. Each assignment's page count assumes 12 point font on 14 point leading, letter-size paper, and 1" margins. I encourage you to use LaTeX to prepare your written responses, as this is a standard typesetting system used in academic publications.
Each response should clearly identify the author(s), date, and assignment number. If the response discusses one or more papers, proper citations for the papers must be included. Use the Bibtex abbrv format, which will produce citations appearing as:
F. Last, F. Last, and F. Last. Article name in sentence case. In Proceedings Name in Title Case, City, State, Jan. 1900.
with similar formats for journal articles and technical reports.
Author kit: authorkit.tgz
Writing Style
Writing quality matters. I expect all written submissions to be grammatically correct with accurate spelling. All writing assignments should be proofread and corrected before submission. Incomplete sentences and broken grammar will adversely affect your score.
Late Policy
Homework and papers are due at the start of class on the due date, unless otherwise specified. Late work will be accepted, but penalized. Work not turned in by a designated final cut-off will not be considered and will be marked as a zero. Hardship exceptions to this policy will be considered by the instructor only before the assignment is due.
Academic Honesty
I recognize and fully support the Georgia Tech Academic Honor Code as defined for the Georgia Tech community. A copy of the Honor Code can be found at this Georgia Tech website.
I expect all students to maintain traditional standards of academic integrity by giving proper credit for all work referenced and quoted. Unless otherwise stated, all work is individual work to be done by each student alone.
Plagiarizing is defined by Webster's as "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; use (another's production) without crediting the source." Quote and attribute any words that are not your own. If caught plagiarizing, you will face sanctions specified in the GT Academic Honor Code. Penalties range from a zero on an assignment up to expulsion from the Institute, depending upon circumstances.
I will report any student in violation to the Office of Student Integrity.
Grading
The following breakdown is a rough guideline, but is not absolute. In a topics course like this, I retain the ability to raise and lower final course grades based on my subjective opinion of your mastery of the material and of research techniques.
Daily discussion participation: 25%
Exercise 1: 5%
Exercise 2: 10%
Exercise 3: 10%
Project proposal: 5%
Project report: 25%
Project presentation: 20%
Grades will be posted at T-Square.
A student may contest a possible grading error by notifying the instructor of the error.