Program Overview
Beaver Works Summer Institute’s four-week Computer Security course is a wide-ranging survey of computing systems, the threats they face, and the way those threats are addressed. Starting at vacuum tubes, students will get a whirlwind tour of everything that makes up a modern computer. Building on that foundation, the course will touch on a variety of topics including human factors, cryptography, networking, software reverse-engineering, and side channels. Where possible, hands-on examples and exercises will complement the work along the way. The course will touch on how those technologies and issues apply to various nontraditional computing environments, such as industrial control systems and satellites. A capstone project will make up the bulk of the final week.
Interested students should have passing familiarity with the Linux operating system and use of the command line (Terminal), broad interest in cybersecurity, and a willingness to poke and prod at a variety of topics.
This program consists of two components: an online & pre-requisite course open to all interested students and a four-week summer program for a select group of students. See our FAQ for most up to date schedule.
Prerequisites
- Knowledge of Python
- Basic Linux shell usage (bash)
- Familiarity with some basic computer science concepts: basic computer architecture, data
- representation (ASCII, binary)
Online Course Topics
- Digital systems
- system administration
- Networking Administration
- Programming
- Cryptography
- Python*
- Bash (Linux OS)
- Ability to Read ASCII/Hex/Binary
Summer Course Outline
- Week one will cover a variety of underpinnings, including a deep dive into computer architectures with some history), basic and advanced applied cryptography, and networking.
- Week two will cover a variety of cyber attacks and defenses: web-based attacks, firmware and software reverse engineering, physical and human factors security, side-channels, transduction and adversarial machine learning.
- Week three will cover a variety of nontraditional environments: cloud computing, Internet-of-Things and SCADA, satellites, and quantum computing.
- Week four will be a capstone event that challenges students to use a wide variety of skills and material they just learned, as well as a few curveballs they will have to figure out as they go.
Location
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 02139
United States
Contact: bwsi-admin@mit.edu
Program
