Sevil Şen's home > Teaching > CMP 656 Advanced Computer and Network Security

Course Description

This course provides an in-depth exploration of cybersecurity, covering fundamental network security concepts, protocol-specific threats, and cutting-edge advancements. Students will examine security challenges across different network layers, including MAC, network, transport, and application layers, with a focus on real-world attacks such as sniffing, spoofing, and protocol-based vulnerabilities. It is not a cryptography course, but it offers a concise overview of cryptographic principles to underscore their critical role in cybersecurity. This year’s focus on state-of-the-art advances in cybersecurity will highlight the role of large language models (LLMs) in cybersecurity and its automation.

Course Time

CMP656: Friday, 13:30-16:00 (SH in the Dept. of Computer Engineering, HU)
CMP656 (Aselsan Akademi): Friday, 09:30-12:00 (DSB at Aselsan)

Note: Although FBE601 is scheduled at the same time as my course CMP656, it will not cause any scheduling conflict or issue!

Please enroll in the course's Piazza website: CMP656
Please enroll in the course's Piazza website: CMP656 (Aselsan Akademi)

Course Outline

Date Subject Project
21/02/2025 Introduction
28/02/2025 Computer Networks and Security Fundamentals
07/03/2025 MAC Layer: Sniffing and Spoofing, Attacks
14/03/2025 Network Layer: BGP, IP, ICMP, and Attacks
21/03/2025 Transport Layer: TCP, UDP, and Attacks Project Proposal due
28/03/2025 Application Layer: DNS and Attacks
04/04/2025 Midterm Exam
11/04/2025 AI in Cybersecurity Progress Report due
18/04/2025 State-of-the-Art Advances in Cybersecurity
25/04/2025 State-of-the-Art Advances in Cybersecurity
02/05/2025 State-of-the-Art Advances in Cybersecurity
09/05/2025 Cryptography in a Nutshell
16/05/2025 Project Presentations
23/05/2025 Project Presentations Final Report due

References

W. Du, Computer & Internet Security: A Hands-on Approach, 3rd ed., 2024.
W. Stallings, Cryptography and Network Security: Principles and Practice, 8th ed. Pearson, 2023.
Top Conferences & Journals: IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, Computers & Security, ..

Tentative Grading

Attendance
Midterm Exam 20%
Paper Presentation 20%
Research Project 60%