Textbook
There is no required textbook for this course. If you are interested in books about computer security, there are recommendations listed on the Resources page.
Lectures
You are expected to attend all lectures. They will be held Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00AM to 12:20PM in COS 104.
Assignments
You will complete six assignments for this course. Three of them are programming assignments that must be completed independently. The remaining three assignments will be collaborative assignments that must be completed in groups of two or three.
Late assignments will lose 10% of its total value for each late day. Assignments will not be accepted after seven late days. Late penalties will be waived only in the case of unforeseeable circumstances, as documented by your dean or director of studies and the course staff’s approval.
Exams
A portion of your grade will depend on a midterm and a final exam that tests your understanding of both lecture and assignment materials. No makeup exam will be considered without a dean’s recommendation.
Final Grades
Your final grade will be calculated based on a weighted sum of all the assignments and exams. The final letter grade cutoffs will be determined at the end of the semester based on overall class performance, but not curved to any specific distribution.
| Grade Contributions | Weight Towards Final Grade |
|---|---|
| Assignments | 10% (x 6 assignments) |
| Midterm Exam | 15% |
| Final Exam | 25% |
Collaboration Policy
Many forms of collaboration are allowed in this course. However, we expect you to submit your own work that demonstrates both understanding and correct implementation. All collaboration on assignments must be acknowledged in your submission. To avoid any unauthorized collaboration, please follow this summary of collaboration rules when working:
| your own group | course staff | previous students | other classmates | other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discuss lecture content with… | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| show solutions to… | yes | yes | no | no | no |
| view solutions from… | yes | no | no | no | no |
| plagiarize code from… | no | no | no | no | no |
Attempting to decompile or otherwise gain information about the implementation of any provided solution archives or binaries is an explicit violation of this policy.
A note about StackExchange, Wikipedia, and online forums:
Many of the topics in this course require self-teaching. This includes a lot of searching online for documentation and information about algorithms, technologies, and techniques. Unfortunately, this includes a wide gray area between learning and plagiarism. Don’t be afraid of searching for and using online resources that teach you how to do something that is not a direct requirement of an assignment.
For example, you are free to find and implement a method that converts integers to byte arrays in an assignment about cryptography; just make sure to cite your source and thoroughly understand the implementation, as your graders will not be lenient with copied code that is buggy. If you find yourself searching for implementations of a security-related algorithm, then you are likely violating the collaboration policy. When you are unsure, ask one of the staff members.