Massachusetts Institute of Technology Handout 16.857: Network and Computer Security September 4, 2003Professor Ronald L. RivestCourse InformationLecturer: Professor Ronald L. RivestNE43-324, 253–5880, [email protected] Hours by appointmentTeaching Assistants: Chris PeikertNE43-313, 253–7843, [email protected] Hours: Wednesday 3–5pmSimson GarfinkelNE43-536, 253–6023, [email protected] Hours: Wednesday 12:15–2pm in room 38-644Secretary: Be BlackburnNE43-322, 253–[email protected] Email: [email protected] PrerequisitesThe prerequisites for the course are 6.033 (Computer System Engineering) and 6.042J (Mathematics forComputer Science). It is recommended that students have had 6.046J (Introduction to Algorithms) andexperience with modular arithmetic.2 UnitsThis is a 12-unit (3-0-9) U-level course intended primarily for seniors and first-year graduate students.Graduate students will not receive H-credit for this class.3 LecturesLectures will be held in Room 6-120 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 to 4:00 P.M. A schedule of topicswill be posted on the Web page.Unlike previous years, we will not provide lecture notes except for a few lectures covering bleeding-edgematerial. Notes from previous years are on the class Web page and in the Barker Engineering Library.4 The class onlineThe course site page is athttp://theory.lcs.mit.edu/classes/6.857/This page links to an online registration form. You must register for the course by completing this formby Friday, September 5.There is a mailing list [email protected] which will be used to send out last-minuteannouncements. You are welcome to send email to this list when you find relevant material useful to therest of the class. We will use the Web page to make handouts and notes available online.2 6.857 : Handout 1: Course Information5 HandoutsHandouts will be available at the beginning of lecture or from the class file cabinet outside room NE43-311.If you take the last copy of a handout, please inform the course secretary so that more copies can be made.Handouts will be made available online, when possible, through the Web page.6 TextbookFor the first time, this course has a required textbook: “Cryptography: An Introduction,” by Nigel Smart. Itwill be available at Quantum Books on Monday, September 8. Please note that the textbook is intendedto be a supplement to the cryptography portion of the course; it does not offer comprehensive treatment ofall the topics we will cover.7 HomeworkWe will distribute six problem sets on approximately a weekly basis. They will generally be handed out onThursday and be due on the following Thursday. Late homework will not be accepted. If in doubt, turn yourproblem set in early at the course secretary’s office. Solutions will be distributed with corrected homework— hopefully within a week of being collected.There will be both individual and group homework assignments. You are to work on group problem setsand final projects in groups of three or four (preferably three). One problem set will be turned in by eachgroup, and one grade will be given for each problem set. You must work in groups; homeworks turned inby individuals, pairs, pentuples, etc. will not be accepted. Be sure that you understand and approve thesolutions turned in to each problem. Get your group organized as soon as you can, and email the compositionof your group to the teaching staff.If you have trouble finding a group, contact the staff. To prevent your group from falling apart, makesure everyone participates and that you all communicate on a regular basis. If you have a problem with agroupmate, talk to him/her first. If you are unable to make a compromise or your group does fall apart,talk to the staff.We may occasionally assign homework that you must answer individually; see Section 11 for the policygoverning these assignments.In lectures presenting very new material, we may ask for volunteers to scribe the lecture notes. A groupwhich scribes a lecture will have its lowest problem set grade replaced with the grade awarded to the scribenotes. So make sure your scribe grade is not your lowest grade.8 Final projectStudents will be responsible for a final project. You must work in a group of three or four people.The nature and the topic of the project is your choice, although it needs the approval of the teachingstaff. We will maintain a Web page of potential project topics and provide sample proposals later in theyear. We will generally approve interesting topics about network and/or computer security.A one or two-page written proposal for the project with an initial bibliography is due no later than inclass on October 23. It is advisable to get going early; we will gladly accept proposals before the deadline.This assignment gives us a chance to review and approve your project proposal, and to suggest referencesthat you may have overlooked.The last three classes (December 2, 4, and 9) will be devoted to short presentations of each term project.Prior to presenting your work in class, you will be asked to give a practice presentation to the course staff.Your written report is due in class on December 9.6.857 : Handout 1: Course Information 39 TestsWe will have two in-class quizzes (October 9 and November 25) and one take-home midterm (distributedOctober 23, due October 30). There is no final exam.Quizzes will test your knowledge of material from lectures, problem sets, and readings. The midterm willcontain open-ended questions to test your application of course material to solve complex problems.10 GradingGrades are: 35% for the problem sets; 10% for quizzes; 25% for the midterm; and 30% for the final project.11 Collaboration and plagiarismNo collaboration is permitted on the take-home midterm or the in-class quizzes. All tests are open bookand open notes. You may not discuss midterm material online, with your GRT, with your mother, etc. It’sa completely individual assignment. We encourage you, however, to prepare for quizzes by discussing coursematerial with your classmates.You may collaborate with individuals from other groups in problem sets, but your solutions must bewritten up only by individuals from your group. For individual homework assignments, you may discuss theproblem set material with others. You must, however, write up your solutions independently.If you do collaborate, acknowledge your collaborators in the write-up for each problem. 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