Michael Smith (Computer Science) and Simson Garfinkel
First-Year Seminar 73T | 4 Credits (Fall 2024) | CANVAS SITE
Monday, 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM
“The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster…. Your defenses must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo.” (from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.)
Today, we are all surrounded by those who would wield the dark arts of cyber against us. They want to steal our data and our money, turn our computers against us, and ultimately upend our lives.
This seminar is designed to help computer users of all skill levels understand the threats we face and embark on the design and creation of our own personal defenses. Using a case-based approach, we will explore real-world threats against our phones and laptops (owls), access-control systems (magical doors), networks (enchanted trains and cars), institutions (Harvard!) and our world in general. Students progress from reading popular accounts of computer security to reading state-of-the-art academic literature. Practical exercises promote mastery of defensive techniques.
Each three-hour class will include an hour-long discussion, a break, and then a hands-on lab. The seminar is taught by two senior computer scientists who provide students with one-on-one instruction and personalized assignments, some of which may involve original research.
Goals include learning how to critically read both popular and academic literature, how to read and research a vulnerability report, how to discuss and analyze technical issues that are morally ambiguous, and how to help those who do not possess cybersecurity skills — computing’s equivalent of muggles.