During this introductory course, geared for students new to cybersecurity, students will be introduced to fundamental security topics. Students will critically examine concepts such as basic networking, system administration, team dynamics and system security as well as identifying and applying basic security hardening techniques. Students will gain practical experience through a virtualized lab environment where they will build and configure a small corporate network.
Faculty Instructors are responsible for administering the course in accordance with the University at Buffalo policies and this syllabus. Faculty Instructors also determine final course grades consistent with the grading policy in this syllabus.
| Name | Chat Username | |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Murray | djmurray@buffalo.edu | djmurray |
| Kevin Cleary | kpcleary@buffalo.edu | cleary.kevin.p |
Student Instructors are responsible for running the class. Most questions, unless believed to be sensitive, should be directed to a student instructor. Please consult Mattermost or UBLearns for Office Hour meeting information.
| Name | Chat Username | Office Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aibek Zhylkaidarov | aibekzhy@buffalo.edu | aibek | Fridays, 6pm-7pm |
| Anthony Magrene | ammagren@buffalo.edu | magrene | Saturdays, 11am-12pm |
| Michael Morgenthal | mmorgent@buffalo.edu | mmorgent | Tuesdays, 10am-11am |
| Nick Richter | nwrichte@buffalo.edu | nickrichter | Mondays, 12pm-1pm |
| Orly Stein | orlystei@buffalo.edu | orlystei | Thursdays, 10am-11am |
| Phil Fox | pcfox@buffalo.edu | xphilfox | Wednesdays, 5:30pm-6:30pm |
| Shreya Lakhkar | shreyala@buffalo.edu | shreya | Thursdays, 2pm-3pm |
| Name | Chat Username | |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Hu | ahu5@buffalo.edu | ahu5 |
| Benjamin Bukai | bjbukai@buffalo.edu | bjbukai |
| Edward Lynch | edwardly@buffalo.edu | edwardly |
| Gursimran Singh | gursimr2@buffalo.edu | gursimr2 |
| Ruben Ocana | rubenoca@buffalo.edu | ruben_ocana |
| Website | ubnetdef.org/courses/syssec |
| Chat Channel | chat.ubnetdef.org |
| Wiki | wiki.ubnetdef.org |
| vCenter Server | cdr-vcenter.cse.buffalo.edu |
| UB VPN | buffalo.edu/ubit/service-guides/connecting/vpn/computer.html You need this to be able to connect to vCenter while off campus or off network. |
| Upon successful completion of this course a student will be able to… | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Learn Basic Security Concepts and Topics | Course |
| Defend a Machine from Real-time Attackers | Course & Competitions |
| Work Effectively in a Team | Project & Competitions |
| Identify Threats and Vulnerabilities of Systems | Course |
| Effectively Communicate via Written Reports and Oral Presentations | Project & Final Presentation |
Attendance for all lectures is required. One absence or late arrival is permitted without penalty. Each additional absence may result in a letter grade reduction in the course. Students arriving late or unprepared may also receive an equal or lesser penalty at the discretion of the instructors. Absences due to illness will be excused if the instructor is notified in advance, and the illness is documented by a physician or healthcare professional. Please note that a live webcam is required if you are attending class online.
All students are required to participate fully in at least two cyber-security competitions, including two UB Lockdown competitions. Various competitions will be announced throughout the academic semester.
Homework will be assigned each week, and will be based on the topics in the class schedule. Unless otherwise specified, they will be released and submitted at ublearns.buffalo.edu.
This schedule is subject to change.
| Week | Topic | Homework |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Welcome - 1000 mile overview, vSphere, Mattermost Virtualization | TBA |
| Saturday, February 6th, 2021: High School Lockdown 5 | ||
| Week 2 | Networking pfSense Runbook; Topology of pfSense with IPs, Gretzky and LAN + DMZ |
TBA |
| Week 3 | Firewalls (Part 1) | TBA |
| Week 4 | Windows | TBA |
| Week 5 | Linux | TBA |
| Week 6 | Linux Services | TBA |
| Week 7 | Advanced Networking Guest Lecture: Kevin Cleary |
TBA |
| Week 8 | Firewalls (Part 2) | TBA |
| Week 9 | Risk Management | TBA |
| Week 10 | IR (Windows) | TBA |
| Week 11 | Penetration Testing | TBA |
| Week 12 | Linux Hardening Techniques | TBA |
| Week 13 | Digital Forensics | TBA |
| Saturday, May 1st, 2021: Lockdown V10 | ||
| Week 14 | Packet Capture / TBD | Final Project |
The best way to request assistance is to ask on the Systems Security channel on UBNetDef’s chat server. The instructors and mentors constantly monitor the chat, so it’s likely you will receive a response within 24-hours, if not sooner. If you do not have access to the UBNetDef chat server, please contact an instructor.
| Component | Percentage of overall grade |
|---|---|
| Attendance | 15% |
| Weekly Projects | 50% |
| Final Project | 15% |
| Lockdown | 15% |
| Extra Competition | 5% |
| Total | 100% |
| Letter grade | Percentage |
|---|---|
| A | ≥ 93% |
| A- | ≥ 90% |
| B+ | ≥ 87% |
| B | ≥ 83% |
| B- | ≥ 80% |
| C+ | ≥ 77% |
| C | ≥ 73% |
| C- | ≥ 70% |
| D | ≥ 65% |
| F | <65% |
Students must conduct themselves in a manner that does not violate the University at Buffalo’s Academic Integrity Policy. Students found in violation of the Academic Integrity Policy will receive an F for the course.
As a student in cyber security, you are learning tools and given resources that are meant to help protect yourself and others. However, these tools and resources can also be used in malicious or illegal ways. It is imperative that while you are a representative of this class, and even well after, you perform any security education or training strictly inside our internal environment or a controlled and contained environment that you have prepared for yourself. Any activity outside of our internal environment is outside of our control and protection. If you are not sure what you’re doing, it is very easy to do something illegal without even knowing you are (even something as simple as port scanning outside our internal network). If you are unsure if something is allowed or not, contact one of the instructors or mentors. All network traffic inside our infrastructure will be monitored for malicious or suspicious activity and acted upon with severe consequences if such privileges are abused. You are being given an opportunity to learn, please do not waste it.
As a part of Systems Security, you are granted permissions to create Virtual Machines on the vCenter environment, for educational purposes. Any misuse of the environment will result in the immediate failure of the student.
All traffic that occurs within the vCenter environment is being logged for analysis purposes. Traffic captures (pcaps) may be shared with other individuals within UBNetDef for educational purposes only. We highly discourage logging into any personal or social networking websites on a Virtual Machine hosted in the vCenter environment.