Admission requirements
This course is part of the minor Cyber Security and Government Essentials.
Description
As the digital world and physical world become more and more interconnected, it becomes increasingly important to develop methods to maintain security in the digital world. Governments, corporations and individuals all have different cyber security needs, and how we meet those needs is of critical importance in our modern world.
In this course, we will study the main issues surrounding cyber security. We will study the core principles of cyber security, debate the trade-off implications of different methodologies, and discuss critical topics that are relevant to our current understanding of cyber security.
More specifically, we will focus on:
Applied cryptography and key management
User authentication and identity management
Operating system security
Web security and cloud security
Network security
Risk management, policy, economics
Adversary goals, sociology, organization
Privacy, anonymity, and censorship
This course is intended for students with a strong interest in security topics. While a background in computer science broadly may be beneficial, it is not expected nor required.
Course objectives
Students will define and relate the core concepts and principles of cyber security.
- Define the key vocabulary
- Assess basic attack and defense structures
Students will identify technical security requirements for different types of systems and evaluate the trade-offs that arise due to these requirements.
- Students can analyze structures for security requirements
- Students can argue for the necessity of some security requirements over
others
Students examine the socio-technical view on security and privacy that
encompasses not only technical but also societal aspects.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
Lecture, discussion, assignments and exam
Assessment method
Exam (60%)
There will be an in-person written, closed-book examination with both open and short questions.
If possible, this exam will use ANS and be taken under controlled conditions.
It will be allowed to bring a single A4 page of handwritten notes to the final exam. Anything can be written on this page so long as it is written by the student by hand.
It will be possible to retake the exam. This retake will be in the same form as the regular exam, with the possibility of an alternate form if circumstances require it.
The teacher will inform the students how the inspection of and follow-up discussion of the exams will take place.
Project (16%)
The will be a final project which must be submitted via Brightspace. Submissions by email will not be accepted.
It will not be possible to resubmit the final project.
The project can be turned in up to 2 days late with an increasing penalty.
All assignments must be representative of a student's own work, plagiarized submissions will be referred to the LIACS Board of Examiners for sanctions.
Final projects that are not submitted after the late submission window will result in a 0 on that assignment.
Assignments (24%)
There will be be regular assignments that must be submitted via Brightspace. Alternative submissions will not be accepted.
There are weekly homework assignments. The lowest assignment (not project) will automatically be dropped from the grade calculation.
It will not be possible to resubmit assignments. Late assignments will not be accepted.
Assignments that are not submitted on time will result in a 0 on that assignment.
All assignments must be representative of a student's own work, plagiarized submissions will be referred to the LIACS Board of Examiners for sanctions.
Reading list
Recommended textbook: Ross Anderson “Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems”. 3rd ed. Information is available here https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/book.html
Note that this textbook is recommended, but not required.
Other literature and reading materials will be announced during the course.
Registration
Note: Registration in EduXcange does not directly mean that you can participate in the minor. You will receive an e-mail that confirms your registration and placement.
Questions about registration should be sent to minorCSGE@liacs.leidenuniv.nl
Contact
The primary contact for this course is N.D. Schiele.
Additionally, Dr. O. Gadyatskaya can be contacted.
Please direct all questions about registration to minorCSGE@liacs.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
Interest in information technology and its security issues is desired.
When you register for a certain course, you automatically receive access to the environment of this course via Brightspace.
For more information about Brightspace, click on this link to view the university manuals. If you have any other questions or problems, you can contact the helpdesk of Leiden University.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.