Course Information
CS 2000-Level: Independent Study for Cyber Defense Competition
Time: B Term, Tuesdays and Fridays, 4:00pm to 4:50pm
Location: Fuller Labs 311
Course Description
Cyber defense competitions can be an excellent learning opportuntiy for students, crossing a wide range of technical and business planning topics. In this independent study, we will explore a variety of security topics to best prepare students for competing in a regional cyber security competition.
(Prerequisite: basic user experience with computers.)
Instructor Information
Instructor: Craig Shue
Email: cshue at cs.wpi.edu
Office: Fuller Labs 236
Course Policies and Procedures
The following represent the official policies and procedures for the course. Please review this information and, if you have questions, discuss them with the professor as soon as possible.
Unregistered Students
Unlike regularly scheduled courses at WPI, students are encouraged to attend classes for which they are interested, even if they are not enrolled in the independent study (ISP). Students who want to practice for the competition team should attend what they can and are encouraged to practice via quizzes and projects.
While we are happy to keep scores to let you see how you are doing on class activities, students must be enrolled in the ISP at the start of the class to receive credit. We will not be able to retroactively enroll students in the ISP.
Student Led Instruction
This independent study is a student-led instruction experience. Students will be responsible for learning the background in particular areas and leading discussion on the topics. Students will create the quizzes and assignments for each other and the students will be responsible for peer grading. The course instructor will provide overall course management and structure.
By continuing in this ISP, you acknowledge and accept that 50% of the course grade will be based off of peer grading feedback.
Major Components
Rather than ensuring all students have the exact same background, this ISP will allow students to become advanced in a particular area, have intermediate proficiency in multiple areas, and have basic competency in the remaining areas. Students will lead discussion, write quizzes, and create practical projects in their advanced area. To show intermediate competency, they will complete projects in areas other than their advanced area. For basic competency, students will listen to projects and complete quizzes on the topic.
Class Schedule
The following schedule will be used for the class:
| Date | Topic | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 27 | Networking Basics: Link, Network, and Transport Layers | Craig |
| Oct. 30 | Networking: Understanding Traffic (packet captures and monitoring) | Craig |
| Nov. 3 | Networking: Cisco IOS controls, flashing/backups, and ACLs | Christopher Jackson, Cem Unsal |
| Nov. 6 | Systems: Hardening Windows | Jack Marabello, Alexander Titus |
| Nov. 10 | Systems: Hardening Linux/Unix | Griffin Bishop, Keith Colbert |
| Nov. 13 | Assessing Yourself: Scanning yourself with penetration testing tools | Khoi Doan, Linh Hoang |
| Nov. 17 | Domain Management: Active Directory | Calvin Figuereo-Supraner |
| Nov. 20 | Essential Services: DNS, Email, Remote Shells, File Transfer | Tanuj Sane, Hugh Whelan |
| Nov. 24 | NO CLASS MEETING | |
| Dec. 1 | Forensics: Detecting a Compromise | Dan Chao, Corey Dixon, Binam Kayastha |
| Dec. 4 | Applications: HTML, SQL/Databases, Web Servers | Ankit Kumar, Akshit Soota |
| Dec. 8 | Advanced: Virtualization and Migration | Abby Harrison, Christopher Pierce |
| Dec. 11 | Disabling Persistence: Identifying and denying access | Eric Cheng, Devan Coleman |
| Dec. 15 | Business: Writing Policy, professionalism, and being cool under pressure | Craig |
Course Grading
Grades for the course are in three main areas:
- Advanced Knowledge (50%): Students will be required to
present on a topic showing advanced knowledge in that area. The
students will prepare an overview of the topic to students, a study
guide, and a quiz for the topic. Students will be primarily graded
based on their demonstration of mastery of the topic and ability to
share and reinforce the knowledge with peers.
- Intermediate Competency (25%):
Students must complete projects on three topics (excluding their
area of Advanced Knowledge). These achievements must be
"notarized" by a peer that attests that the student has
adequately completed the project. For each of the projects, the student must have a
different notary.
- Basic Competency (25%): Students will complete quizzes on the topics presented by other students. These short quizzes will demonstrate the student has learned the topic well. These quizzes will be graded by the student's peers.
Important Resources
Students are strongly encouraged to read the following materials:
- Cyber Defense Competition: A Tale of Two Teams
- Preparing for the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition
- Example CCDC Team Guide
Official Communication
Class discussion, class hand-outs, emails to the student's WPI email account, forum posts in InstructAssist, and the course Web pages are avenues for official course communication. Students are responsible for any information posted through these venues.
Student Disabilities
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you have medical information to share with me, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. If you have not already done so, students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. This office is located in the West St. House (157 West St) and their phone number is 508.831.4908.
Academic Honesty
The WPI Academic Honesty Policy describes types of academic dishonesty and requirements in documentation. In the case of academic dishonesty, I am required to report the incident to the Dean of Student Affairs. Further, my penalty for academic dishonesty is to assign an F grade for the course.