CSCI E-45b: The Cyber World: Governance, Threats, Conflict, Privacy, Identity, and Commerce

Course Overview

Semester and Year: Spring 2022

Format: on-line

Instructors Contact Information

Name: Scott Bradner & Ben Gaucherin

Course Description and Learning Objectives

Today we all live and work in a participatory cyberspace. Computers, the data networks that interconnect them, and the services available over the networks make up this cyberspace. As cyberspace invades almost all areas of modern day living, playing, and working, it is becoming more important that people understand its technical and political underpinnings and operations, as well as its capabilities, threats, and weaknesses. This is a companion course to CSCI E-45a. The goal of this pair of courses is to give students the tools they need to understand, use, and manage the technologies involved, as well as the ability to appreciate the legal, social, and political dynamics of this ever-expanding universe and the interplay between the cyber and physical worlds. The pair of courses covers the essential elements of computing and the history, structure, operation, and governance of the internet. This course explores the technical and legal aspects of the interactions and tensions between security, usability, privacy, and surveillance in a post NSA-revelation world. We also look at the technical and legal underpinnings that affect the use of cyberspace for businesses. Finally, we explore the rapidly changing dangers of cyberspace from viruses to state-sponsored cyber-conflict.

Course Materials

All reading materials are on-line and free. reading list

These are the handouts we used for our Harvard Extension School class in the spring of 2022. They are available for anyone to use as long as proper credit is given.

Week #	Coursework
Week 1	Module 01: Introduction to the Cyber World intro to Ben & Scott, course logistics, exams, course content, review of E45a
Week 2	Module 02: Internet governance governance issues, the law, network neutrality
Week 3	Module 03: Internet application protocols basic concepts, finger, email, web, VoIP, secure login
Week 4	Module 04: Identity and authentication identity, authentication knows, has, is, multi factor
Week 5	Module 05: Trust and privacy trust, privacy, US and other privacy laws
Week 6	Module 06: Security threats I malware, worms, viruses, spyware, bugs
Week 7	Module 07: Security threats II website attacks, phishing & social engineering
Week 8	Module 08: Protecting the infrastructure threats to infrastructure, routing, DNS, DoS attacks
Week 9	Module 09: Usability, accessibility human design, human factors, usability, accessibility
Week 10	Module 10: Cyber conflict attacks, actors, attribution, zero days
Week 11	Module 11: Commerce, DRM Internet commerce, payment systems, copyright
Week 12	Module 12: Information security strategy, classification, policy, and mindset info sec strategy, policies & programs, security mindset
Week 13	Module 13: Surveillance and counter-surveillances surveillance types & actors, anonymity, protecting privacy
Week 14	Module 14: Safe computing and networking for enterprises, for individuals, PCI as example