Security and Reliability of Computer Communication Systems

Course Title: Security and Reliability of Computer Communication Systems

Code: 3ФЕИТ07001А

ECTS points: 6 ECTS

Number of classes per week: 3+0+0+3

Lecturer: Prof. D-r Aristotel Tentov, PhD; Prof. D-r Danijela Efnusheva, PhD

Course Goals (acquired competencies): Acquiring deeper knowledge in the field of security and reliability of computer and network environments. Application of the acquired knowledge in practical systems, such as: computer systems and different types of networks. Protection of bank and critical data. Estimation of reliability in computer-communication systems.

Course Syllabus: Introduction and basic concepts. Ethical standards and accountability. Structure of encryption. Examples of encryption protocols. Encryption with secret keys. Encryption with public keys. Encrypted systems penetration. Basic protection mechanisms in operating systems. Architecture of protection systems in operating systems, authentication, access control: access lists, access control implementation (Unix, Java), Bell and La Padula models. Operating systems support for MAC policies, security policies Clark- Wilson and Chinese Wall. Weaknesses of protection in operating systems. Safe OS cores. Protective mechanisms in TCP / IP based networks and in DNS. IPsec protocol. Firewalls. Web applications and servers protection. Database protection and attacks. Virus detection, Trojan horses and unauthorized login attempts. Spam, spoofing, man-in-the-middle, DoS, DDoS agents and mobile codes. Proctection of smart cards and other card types. Protocols for secure electronic transactions.   Reliability and confidentiality definitions and measures. Reliability and availability modeling. Error detection and error correction codes. Reliable systems design: transient versus permanent hardware errors. Error sources in software. Fault tolerance techniques. VLSI devices reliability. Airflow control systems, telecommunication systems, industrial control applications. Reliable systems for tran­saction processing. Software approaches and software reliability. Software reliability models. Software reliability methods. Reliability in operating systems and data structures. Reliability in databases and distributed systems. Test design. Test generation methods. Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG). System level tests and diagnosis. Software Testing. Test specifications. Black Box Testing. White box testing. Random tests. Test coverage. Maintenance. Risk analysis and exposure to hazards, risk reduction strategies. Necessity of maintaining certain systems. Patterns of behavior.

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