• Core Courses
• Electives
• CCIS Courses with Concentration in Information Security

Information Assurance Core

IA G100 Foundations of Information Assurance
Builds a common cross-disciplinary understanding in the foundations of information assurance. Presents an overview of basic principles and security concepts related to information systems, including workstation security, system security, and communications security.  Introduces information security via database technology. Discusses Legal Infrastructure such as DMCA, Telecommunications Act, Wire Fraud, and other ethical issues.  Covers Security Methods, Controls, Procedures, Economics of Cyber crime, Criminal Procedure and Forensics; Describes the use of Cryptography as a tool, Software Development Processes and Protection.

IA G110 Computer Systems and Networks
Introduces the basic concepts underlying computer operating systems and computer networks.  Covers the basic structure of an operating system such as application interfaces, processes, threads, synchronization, inter-process communication, processor allocation, deadlocks, memory management, file systems, and input/output control.  Also introduces network architectures, network topologies, network protocols, layering concepts (for example, ISO/OSI, TCP/IP reference models), communication paradigms (point-to-point vs. multicast/broadcast, connectionless vs. connection oriented), and networking APIs (sockets).  Use examples from real operating systems and networks (UNIX, MS-DOS, Windows, TCP/IP, Ethernet) to reinforce concepts.

IA G114 Applied Cryptography
Provides a survey of both the principles and the practice of cryptography. Topics covered include symmetric encryption schemes including DES and AES; public key cryptosystems such as RSA, Discrete Logarithm; hash functions, authentication and digital signatures; key management and digital certificates. Discusses network security protocols and applications, including Kerberos and SSL.

ELECTIVES

IA G120 Security Risk Management and Assessment
Prereq: IA G100 or taken concurrently or permission of instructor. MS: Info Sec
Creates a competency in the development of information security policies and plans including controls for physical, software and networks. Discusses different malicious attacks, such as viruses and Trojan horses, detection strategies, countermeasures, damage assessment and control. Covers information system risk analysis and management, audits and logfiles.  Uses case studies, site visits and works with commercial products.

IA G124 Information System Forensics
Prereq: IA G100 or taken concurrently or permission of instructor. MS: Info Sec
Designed to allow students to explore the techniques used in computer forensic examinations.  Examines computer hardware, physical and logical disk structure and computer forensic techniques.  Hands-on experiences will be conducted on DOS, Windows operating systems, Macintosh, Novell, and Unix/Linux platforms.  Students will build on basic computer skills and gain hands-on experience with the tools and techniques to investigate, seize and analyze computer based evidence using a variety of specialized forensic software in an IBM-PC environment.

IA G128 Ethics, Privacy and Digital Rights
Prereq: IA G100 or taken concurrently or permission of instructor. MS: Info Sec
Understand the legal and ethical issues associated with information security including access, use and dissemination. Emphasis on legal infrastructure relating to information assurance such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Telecommunications Decency Act, and emerging technologies for management of digital rights.  Examine the role of information security in various domains such as healthcare, scientific research, personal communications such as email. Examine criminal activities such as computer fraud and abuse, desktop forgery, embezzlement, child-pornography, computer trespass, and computer piracy.

IA G674 Capstone Project:
The team project is intended to draw together candidates from diverse backgrounds (technical, legal and/or law enforcement) in a collaborative activity to address one or more security issues from an integrated perspective. The project is generally industrially oriented with a project proposal submitted and accepted prior to the semester in which the project is to be undertaken.

CCIS Courses with Concentration in Information Security

CS G252 Cryptography and Communication Security:
Prereq: CS G113/CS G713 (or taken concurrently)
Studies the design and use of cryptographic systems for communications and other applications such as e-commerce. Discusses the history of cryptographic systems, the mathematical theory behind the design, their vulnerability and the different cryptanalytic attacks. Topics include: stream ciphers such as shift register sequences; block ciphers such as DES and AES; public-key systems such as RSA, Discrete Logarithms; signature schemes; hash functions such as MD5 and SHA1; protocol schemes such as Identification schemes, Zero-Knowledge proofs, Authentication schemes and Secret Sharing schemes. Key management problems including Needham-Schroeder protocols and certificates will be discussed.

CS G254 Network Security:
Prereq: CS G152 (CS G252 is strongly recommended)
Studies the theory and practice of computer security, focusing on the security aspects of multi-user systems and the internet. Introduces cryptographic tools such as encryption, key exchange, hashing and digital signatures in terms of their applicability to maintaining network security. Discusses security protocols for mobile networks. Topics include: firewalls, viruses, Trojan horses, password security, biometrics, VPNs, internet protocols such as SSL, IPSec, PGP, SNMP and others.