COMP 4/6420 Network and Mobile Security - Fall2025

Teaching Team

Lecturer: Kan Yang. Email: kan.yang AT memphis.edu

TA: TBD

Course Description

This course will discuss security issues and solutions in computer and mobile networks. Topics include Web Security (web security mode, web application security), Cryptography (symmetric cryptography, public-key cryptography, SSL/TLS, and other crypto tools), Network Security (security issues in network protocols, network defense tools, DoS attacks, etc.), Mobile Security (mobile platform security models, mobile threats and malware), and Cloud Security. (The content and syllabus are subject to adjustment during the semester.)

Lecture

Tuesday/Thursday, 11:20 am - 12:45 pm, Fogelman Clsrm Bldg 131

Office Hours

With TA: TBA

With Lecturer: By appointment only (Please arrange by email 2-3 days in advance)

Textbook

Internet Security: A Hands-on Approach 3rd Edition (ISBN: 978-17330039-6-4), by Wenliang Du. Purchase on Amazon

Evaluation

Grading: Final Grades = Homework (20%) + Quizzes(10%) + Lab (25%) + Midterm (20%) + Final Exam (25%).

Grading Scale: A: 85 – 100, B: 70 – 84, C: 60 – 69, D: 50 – 59, F: 49 and below. (Plus/minus grading will be used).

Course Policy

Late Policy: Without prior request, no late work will be accepted. All late submission maybe accepted at a penalty of 15% per day for no more than THREE days.
Testing Policy: The exam given is closed book/note/laptop/neighbor. But students are allowed to bring one cheat sheet (letter-sized 8.5-by-11) for quick reference. There will NOT be any makeup exams unless there is a documented emergency.
Homework Assignment and Project Report Policy: It is recommended that students use a word processing software (e.g., Word or LaTeX) to type their homework solutions or project report, then submit well-formatted PDF files.

Course Schedule

Part I: Introduction

Week 1:
- Aug 26 - Lecture 1: Course Intro
- Aug 28 - Lecture 2: Security Intro

Part II: Web Security

Week 2:
- Sep 2 - Lecture 3: Web Security Overview
  Optional Reading:
  - Same-origin Policy, Browser Security Handbook, part 2, by Michal Zalewski.
  - Securing Frame Communication in Browsers, by Adam Barth, Collin Jackson, and John C. Mitchell.
  - The Security Architecture of the Chromium Browser, by Adam Barth, Collin Jackson, Charles Reis, and Google Chrome Team.
- Sep 4 - Lecture 4: Web Security - SQL Injection
  Optional Reading:
  - Advanced SQL Injection in SQL Server Applications, by Chris Anley.
  - SQL Injection Attacks by Example, by Steve Friedl's Unixwiz.net Tech Tips.
  - SQL Injection Cheat Sheet, OWASP.
Week 3:
- Sep 9 - Lecture 5: Web Security - Cross-Site Scripting
  Optional Reading:
  - Cross Site Scripting Explained, by Amit Klein.
  - XSS Attack Examples, by Lakshmanan Ganapathy.
  - XSS Filter Evasion Cheat Sheet, OWASP.
- Sep 11 - Lecture 6: Web Security - Cross-Site Request Forgery
  Optional Reading:
  - Cross-Site Request Forgeries: Exploitation and Prevention, by William Zeller and Edward W. Felten.
  - Robust Defenses for Cross-Site Request Forgery, by Adam Barth, Collin Jackson, and John C. Mitchell.
  - CSRF Prevention Cheat Sheet, OWASP.
Week 4:
- Sep 16 - Lecture 7: Web Security - Session Management
  Optional Reading:
  - Secure Session Management With Cookies for Web Applications, by Chris Palmer.
  - Origin Cookies: Session Integrity for Web Applications, by Bortz et al.

Part III: Cryptography

Week 4:
- Sep 18 - Lecture 8: Cryptography - Symmetric Cryptography I
  Optional Reading:
  - Symmetric Cryptography Optional Notes
Week 5:
- Sep 23 - Lecture 9: Cryptography - Symmetric Cryptography II
- Sep 25 - Lecture 10: Cryptography - Symmetric Cryptography III
Week 6:
- Sep 30 - Lecture 11: Cryptography - Public Key Cryptography I
  Optional Reading:
  - Asymmetric Cryptography Optional Notes
- Oct 2 - Lecture 12: Cryptography - Public Key Cryptography II
Week 7:
- Oct 07 - Lecture 13: HTTPS
- Oct 09 - Lecture 14: Midterm Review
Week 8:
- Oct 14 - Fall Break
- Oct 16 - Lecture 15: Midterm

Part IV: Network Security

Week 9:
- Oct 21 - Lecture 16: Networking Overview
- Oct 23 - Lecture 17: Network Security Issues
Week 10:
- Oct 28 - Lecture 18: Network Defense Tools: Firewalls, VPN and Intrusion Detection
- Oct 30 - Lecture 19: DNS Security
Week 11:
- Nov 4 - Lecture 20: Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks
- Nov 6 - Lecture 21: Wireless Network Security Overview

Part V: Mobile Security

Week 12:
- Nov 11 - Lecture 22: iOS Security
- Nov 13 - Lecture 23: Android Security
Week 13:
- Nov 18 - Lecture 24: Malware Overview
- Nov 20 - Lecture 26: Final Review
Week 14:
- Nov 25 - Final Preparation - no class
- Nov 27 - Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 15:
- Dec 2 - Final Exam (in-class exam)

Course Labs

SEED Lab VM Setup

Many thanks to the SEED Lab developed by Dr. Wenliang Du! Follow the instructions to setup the lab environment.