Secure Software Systems

12 units · Undergraduate

Spring: 12 units Poor software design and engineering are the root causes of most security vulnerabilities in deployed systems today. Moreover, with code mobility now commonplace and #8212;particularly in the context of web technologies and digital rights management and #8212;system designers are increasingly faced with protecting hosts from foreign software and protecting software from foreign hosts running it. This class takes a close look at software as a mechanism for attack, as a tool for protecting resources, and as a resource to be defended. Topics covered include the software design process; choices of programming languages, operating systems, databases and distributed object platforms for building secure systems; common software vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows and race conditions; auditing software; proving properties of software; software and data watermarking; code obfuscation; tamper resistant software; and the benefits of open and closed source development. Students in 18-335 will share lectures and homeworks with students in 18-732 . However, 18-732 has additional requirements not shared by 18-335 , including the requirement to produce scribe notes and to practice and demonstrate the ability to read and summarize scientific papers on the topics covered by the course. Prerequisites: ( 18-330 Min. grade C or 18-730 Min. grade C or 14-741 Min. grade C or 18-631 Min. grade C or 15-330 Min. grade C) and (18-613 Min. grade C or 15-213 Min. grade C or 14-513 Min. grade C or 18-213 Min. grade C or 15-513 Min. grade C)