This course’s goal is to provide students with the fundamentals on how to design secure networks and how to understand if an existing security technology works or not. This course is not meant to give students details on how to hack other people’s networks!
This course is an introduction to network security, and primarily deals with the main techniques used in modern networks to overcome security problems, as well as with the scientific principles that are at the basis of such techniques. The first part of the course focuses on cryptography and cryptographic systems, which are seen as the main components of any modern approach to network security. The second part of the course introduces the main security mechanisms and cryptographic protocols applied to both IP networks and to telephone mobile networks. More than 30% of the course is devoted to laboratory exercises, where students will have a chance to configure and test many of the protocols and mechanisms that are explained in class.
Introduction to cryptography: theory, algorithms, protocols
- Symmetric cryptography
- Asymmetric cryptography
- Hash and MAC functions
- Cryptographic protocols: what do you do with crypto-algorithms?
Network security: protocols
- Authentication in practice: crypto/non-crypto
- Network security protocols: IPSec, SSL/TLS
- Security in cellular networks: GSM, UMTS
- Security in wired and wireless LANs
- Application layer (in brief)
Network security: architectures and models
- Firewall, NIDS
Laboratory
- Practical exercises with network security
- Certification authorities
- Security in 802.3 and 802.11 networks.
A.J. Menezes, P.C. van Oorschot and S.A. Vanstone, "Handbook of Applied Cryptography", CRC Press, Fifth Printing, 2001.
W. Stallings, “Cryptography and Network Security”, Prentice Hall, Fourth Printing, 2006.
Teacher uses slides that students can download from the main website of the course (Comunità Didattiche). During Laboratory classes, students connect from the lab terminals to virtual machines and networks to configure and test security access protocols and rules.
Oral exam plus the discussion of an optional project.