Topic outline

  • General

    Quick info:  The exam is open until the end of period V. All demos must be done by 25 May; the course staff will not be available after that. Note that it takes at least two meetings to complete each project.

    Spring semester info: All lecture slides and videos have now been published (there is no lecture 8, and recording of lecture 12 failed). To take the exam on campus, book your time here. The exam can be taken twice, and it will close at the end of period V. More project demo and advice session will be scheduled for the first four weeks of May 2023. Anyone who seriously plans to complete the course should take the exam and start working on the projects before May. Ideally, take the exam early and start working on the remaining project(s) in mid-April.

    Self study in spring 2023: The course can be taken as self study in the spring semester 2023. However, the course material is not perfect for self study, and you may have to find additional information online to understand the content. If you have not yet registered in Sisu, (1) send an email to cs-e4300@aalto.fi to get access to the material on MyCourses, (2) take the exam by 30 April, and (3) start working on the projects in April so that you are ready for the first round of feedback in early May. We will take care of the Sisu registrations in the beginning of May. 

    Network Security is an advanced master-level course on network security technologies and secure system design. Students are expected to have previous knowledge of computer networks, internet protocols, information security, and basic knowledge of applied cryptography. At minimum, see lectures 5, 7, 8 in CS-C3130.

    In the academic year 2022-2023, the course will consist of lectures on campus, an examination (50%) based on the lectures, and two projects (2 x 25%) where the students apply the learned knowledge to design and implement security solutions. The examination will be in the EXAM studio and booked individually starting from December.

    To contact the course staff, please use the course email alias cs-e4300 rather than the personal email addresses.

    The lectures cover background knowledge on network security protocols and standards. The purpose of the examination is to ensure that everyone attends the lectures and reads the lecture material. The projects are secure systems design tasks that typically require independent learning and more than one iteration to complete. The projects can be done pairs or individually. A successful demo is required for each project. Typically, you first book one session for advice and feedback, and then another for the demo.

    Planned lecture topics (subject to change)

    1. Network security threats and goals (Tuomas Aura)
    2. Classic protocols flaws, brief intro to NFC (Tuomas Aura)
    3. Key exchange (Tuomas Aura)
    4. TLS 1.3 and QUIC (Mohit Sethi)
    5. IPsec and IKEv2 (Tuomas Aura)
    6. Firewalls (Tuomas Aura)
    7. (no lecture on 15 Nov)
    8. Virtual private networks (Tuomas Aura)
    9. Wireless LAN security (Mohit Sethi)
    10. Bluetooth and pairing protocols (Mohit Sethi)
    11. Cellular network security (Mohit Sethi)
    12. eSIM and formal verification (Aleksi Peltonen)

    Best-effort recordings of the live lectures will be published after each lecture when the technology works.

    Project topics

    1. NFC ticket design
    2. IPsec VPN: connecting IoT devices to cloud

    Course timeline

     25 Oct 2022 More course information published

    Oct-Dec 2022

    Lectures on campus

    Nov-Dec 2022

    Project advice and demo sessions 

    Dec 2022 - May 2023

    Examination available in EXAM studio

    Jan - April 2023

    break or independent work

    May 2023 (schedule TBA)

    Additional project advice and demo sessions


    Lecture times:

    Tue      25.10.22 (week 43)     12:15 - 14:00            T6
    Thu      27.10.22 (week 43)     12:15 - 14:00            T3
    Tue      01.11.22 (week 44)     12:15 - 14:00            T6
    Thu      03.11.22 (week 44)     12:15 - 14:00            T3
    Tue      08.11.22 (week 45)     12:15 - 14:00            T6
    Thu      10.11.22 (week 45)     12:15 - 14:00            T3
    Tue      15.11.22 (week 46)     no lecture
    Thu      17.11.22 (week 46)     12:15 - 14:00            T3
    Tue      22.11.22 (week 47)     12:15 - 14:00            T6
    Thu      24.11.22 (week 47)     12:15 - 14:00            T3
    Tue      29.11.22 (week 48)     12:15 - 14:00            T6
    Thu      01.12.22 (week 48)     12:15 - 14:00            T3



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