CSCE 5550 - Introduction to Computer Security - Fall 2026
Class Day/Time/Venue: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:15-1:35pm, NTDP B157
Instructor: Kirill Morozov (Department of Computer Science and Engineering)
Office hours*: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00-3:00pm in NTDP F283
In-person and online appointments at other timeslots are possible upon request.
E-mail: Kirill [dot] Morozov [at] unt.edu
NOTE: The labs will use virtual machines. You will need VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/) to run them.
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Course Description
The aim of this course is to introduce the concepts and principles of computer security and privacy. It covers both theoretical and practical aspects of computer security, including security models and assurance, OS and network security, common security threats and countermeasures against them, cryptography, risk analysis and data privacy.
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Course webpage
All lectures, assignments, and other materials will be posted in Canvas.
Submissions must be made via Canvas as well.
Note: In all communications with instructors and TAs, the subject of your e-mails must start with "CSCE 5550".
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Reference books:
- [Recommended] W. Stallings and L. Brown, “Computer Security: Principles and Practice”, 4th Edition, Pearson, 2018.
- [Supplementary] M. Bishop, "Computer Security: Art and Science", 2nd Edition, Addison-Wesley, 2019.
- [Supplementary] C.P. Pfleeger, S.L. Pfleeger, and J.Margulies, "Security in Computing", 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, 2015.
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Course schedule*
- Week 1 (Aug 18 and 20): Course introduction. Security fundamentals. Threat modeling.
- Week 2 (Aug 25 and 27): Network security.
- Week 3 (Sep 1 and 3): DNS security. Routing security.
- Week 4 (Sep 8 and 10): Firewalls. Intrusion detection systems (IDS). Virtual private networks (VPN).
- Week 5 (Sep 15 and 17): Cryptography and its applications.
- Week 6 (Sep 22 and 24): Access control. Unix OS security.
- Week 7 (Sep 29 and Oct 1): Windows OS security. Buffer overflow attacks.
- Week 8 (Oct 6): Review lecture.
(Oct 8): Midterm Exam.
- Week 9 (Oct 13 and 15): Control hijacking attacks and countermeasures. Malware.
- Week 10 (Oct 20 and 22): Malware (cont). Multivelel security models.
- Week 11 (Oct 27 and 29): Web security.
- Week 12 (Nov 3 and 5): Database and application-level security.
- Week 13 (Nov 10 and 12): Identity and session management. Anonymous communication.
- Week 14 (Nov 17 and 19): Data privacy and anonymization. Log analysis and event monitoring
- Thanksgiving Break (Nov 24 and 26): No class.
- Week 15 (Dec 1 and 3): IT security management. Legal aspects and ethics.
- Dec 8 (Tue), 1:00-3:00pm: Final Exam
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Grading*
- Attendance – 5%
- Homeworks – 10%
- Labs – 25%
- Programming project – 15%
- Mid-term exam – 20%
- Final exam – 25%
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Course Policies
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Grading: Assignments may be submitted up to 3 days late, with a penalty of 15% for each day.
No credit will be given after 3 days.
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Academic Integrity: Cheating in exams/assignments, plagiarism in exams/assignments, collusion and falsification of academic records constitute academic dishonesty.
Students are responsible for being familiar with UNT’s Students Academic Integrity Policy: https://policy.unt.edu/policy/06-003.
Cheating/collusion/plagiarism in assignments/exams will result
in zero credit for them, possible “F” grade for the course, and possible disciplinary action.
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Students with Disabilities: Students in need of academic accommodations for disability can refer
to the Office of Disability Access for initiating the required arrangements based on ADA terms.
Also, such the students are welcome to arrange an appointment with me to discuss their special needs
for academic accommodation (to ensure confidentiality).
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