Course Information

• This semester, we are updating the contents of CS448 with more diverse security and privacy topics across many different sub-fields in computer security. The new topics we introduce this year include high availability systems, operating system security, web security, software security, blockchain security, AI security, and usable security.

• The lectures on these new topics are designed to provide introductory level guidelines for CS undergraduate students who want to take postgraduate-level, advanced courses in different security topics.

• See more details about our revamped syllabus below

Frequently Asked Questions

• "Should I have some hacking experience to take this course?"

  • No! Absolutely not required. Information security is not only about learning how to use or build hacking tools. It is a very broad subfield of computer science, where we study how computer systems can become robust against adversaries. We will study some theory and some practical defense architectures that are used in today's computer systems. Some hacking experiences may help a little but they are not required at all.

• "I haven't taken any security courses in my life. I'm just a regular CS undergrad. Can I take this course?"

  • Yes! This is a very introductory course for computer security in general. You will learn lots of new stuff here. You are welcomed.

• "I'm not interested in computer security at all. I'll never hack someone else's computers. Why should I take this course?"

  • This course is not a mandatory course in CS KAIST so we can't say you should take it but we highly encourage you to learn some basic information security concepts and practices before you graduate. Once you graduate, the real systems you will be developing have to handle real attacks in the wild. Knowing some basic information security will only help your career!

Administrative stuff

• Time: Tue/Thu 16:00 - 17:30

• Location: Zoom only lectures (no face-to-face classes)

• Github classroom: https://github.com/prosyslab-classroom/cs448-2021-spring

• TAs:

  • Hwigyeom Kim (buddha93@kaist.ac.kr)

  • Taekkyoung Oh (ohtk@kaist.ac.kr)

  • Eunjin Kim (ej.kim20@kaist.ac.kr)

  • Junseon Kim (junseon.kim@kaist.ac.kr)

  • Seungjin Baek (sumango3@kaist.ac.kr)

• (Optional) Reference Books:

  • Paul C. van Oorschot, Computer Security and the Internet: Tools and Jewels

  • Ross Anderson, Security Engineering by Ross Anderson

  • Jonathan Katz and Yehuda Lindell, Introduction to Modern Cryptography (2nd edition)

  • Andreas Zeller et al., The Fuzzing Book

  • Xavier Rival and Kwangkeun Yi, Introduction to Static Analysis: an Abstract Interpretation Perspective

• Grading: Assignment 90%, Participation 10% (no in-person exams)