Abstract Prerequisites Dates and Times Material Grading

CS-7790 Special Topics in Security and Privacy

An Introduction to Web Security Research

Instructor

Engin Kirda

For correspondence, send a mail to ek@ccs.neu.edu.

Office hours: Mondays, 4-5pm, 617 ISEC

News

  1. 10.03.2022 Presentation schedule sent on Canvas.
  2. 09.10.2022 The course website is online.

Course Description

The aim of this research seminar for graduate students is to provide the students with an introduction to research in the field of web security. In the seminar, we will explore recent research advances in this field, and we will cover several sub-areas of specialty and ongoing research in this important, and popular area. The students will practice how to read and analyze scientific literature on web security, and will receive mentoring and guidance on how to conduct novel research in the field. One of the main goals of the course is to provide students with an overview of how research is conducted in computer security in general, how "novelty" is typically defined, and how research papers and academic proposals are written. The class will meet once a week for about a 100 minute session. By the end of the course, ideally, you will:

  • Understand historical, new and ongoing research areas in web security
  • Learn about scientific methods used in web security papers
  • Be able to read and evaluate a paper on web security
  • Present and answer questions about a technical paper
  • Gain a basic understanding of how the research proces works

    Note that this course is intentioned to be a research seminar course on a special topic chosen by the intructor. It will consist of two main components: First, in our first meeting, there will be an introductory lecture on the sub-areas we will cover during the seminar, and also advice on giving presentations, reading research papers, and having technical discussions. In later meetings, I plan to have lectures to provide the necessary background for the research topic that is covered. The second component of the seminar will be weekly assignments consisting of background reading of specific web security papers, and their written reviews. The reading, presentation, and the discussion of the papers will consist of the majority of the course. I also plan to have a few external presenters join the seminar and present their work.

    Prerequisites

  • Interest in computer science research -- more specifically, applied computer security
  • Good understanding of general web security topics and basic web security issues
  • Willingness to read and discuss state of the art, as well as historical web security papers

    Dates and Times

    Mondays (6pm-8pm, Hastings Suite 114)

    Slides, Material, and Schedule

    • 12.05.2022 // Meeting 11
    • 11.28.2022 // Meeting 10
    • 11.21.2022 // Meeting 9
    • 11.14.2022 // Meeting 8
    • 11.07.2022 // Meeting 7
    • 10.31.2022 // Meeting 6
    • 10.24.2022 // Meeting 5
    • 10.17.2022 // Meeting 4
    • 10.10.2022 // No class -- Indigenous Peoples Day
    • 10.03.2022 // Meeting 3 // RBA and HRS
    • 09.26.2022 // Meeting 2 // How to read and write papers, and give presentations // Slides on Canvas
    • 09.19.2022 // No class due to travel -- prep time
    • 09.12.2022 // Meeting 1 // Introduction to web security issues and course // Slides on Canvas

    Grading

    The course grade will be based on:

    40% Attendance and participation
    30% Paper reviews for each meetup
    30% Paper presentations

    Last Modified: Mon Oct 3 17:24:40 2022 EST