EvoSec 2025W: Course Outline: Difference between revisions

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*'''Title:''' Evolutionary Security
*'''Title:''' Evolutionary Security
*'''Institution:''' Carleton University, School of Computer Science
*'''Institution:''' Carleton University, School of Computer Science
*'''Instructor:''' [https://people.scs.carleton.ca/~soma Anil Somayaji]
*'''Course Website''': https://homeostasis.scs.carleton.ca/wiki/index.php/Evolutionary_Security:_Winter_2025
** Office hours by appointment
*'''Instructor:''' [https://people.scs.carleton.ca/~soma Anil Somayaji] (he/him)
** Student hours by appointment
** Contact via Teams, Email (anil.somayaji at carleton.ca), and Discord (asomayaji#1800)
** Contact via Teams, Email (anil.somayaji at carleton.ca), and Discord (asomayaji#1800)
*'''Lectures:''' Tues. and Thurs. 11:35-12:55 via Zoom (see [https://brightspace.carleton.ca Brightspace] for the link), January 7-April 8, 2025.
*'''Lectures:''' Tues. and Thurs. 11:35-12:55 via Zoom (see [https://brightspace.carleton.ca Brightspace] for the link), January 7-April 8, 2025.
** University of Ottawa Students, please see [https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/faculty-of-graduate-and-postdoctoral-affairs-access-to-brightspace/ here] to gain access to Brightspace; contact the instructor for Zoom link.
*'''Course Website''': https://homeostasis.scs.carleton.ca/wiki/index.php/Evolutionary_Security:_Winter_2025


==Official Course Description==
''University of Ottawa Students'', please see [https://gradstudents.carleton.ca/faculty-of-graduate-and-postdoctoral-affairs-access-to-brightspace/ here] to gain access to Brightspace; contact the instructor for lecture Zoom link.
 
Important dates and deadlines can be found here: https://carleton.ca/registrar/registration/dates/academic-dates/, including class suspension for winter break, and statutory holidays.
 
==Course Calendar Description==


A course on computer security from an evolutionary perspective, with the goal of understanding the computer security arms race. Covers models of cooperation and conflict from biology, economics, game theory, evolutionary computation, artificial life, and others. Focus is on an evolutionary analysis of existing defenses at the operating system, application, network, and user levels.
A course on computer security from an evolutionary perspective, with the goal of understanding the computer security arms race. Covers models of cooperation and conflict from biology, economics, game theory, evolutionary computation, artificial life, and others. Focus is on an evolutionary analysis of existing defenses at the operating system, application, network, and user levels.


Prerequisite for COMP 4900H: COMP4108 with a minimum grade of A-, or permission of the instructor.  
Prerequisite for COMP 4900H: COMP4108 with a minimum grade of A-, or permission of the instructor.


==Learning Materials and Other Course-Related Resources==


==Learning Outcomes==
'''Students are not required to purchase textbooks or other learning materials for this course.'''


In this course you will learn how to critique and evaluate adaptive security mechanisms, including ones that use diversity/randomness, machine learning, and other adaptive approaches. You will also get experience in designing adaptive security mechanisms, and you will learn the advantages and disadvantages of adaptive approaches to security.
Assigned readings will be posted to the course page throughout the term.
 
==Topics Covered and Learning Outcomes==
 
TBA


==Grading==
==Grading==
Line 53: Line 61:


You are expected to attend most class meetings and participate in asynchronous class discussions.  Students making a genuine effort to participate will earn most of these marks (with a bit reserved for truly exceptional participation).
You are expected to attend most class meetings and participate in asynchronous class discussions.  Students making a genuine effort to participate will earn most of these marks (with a bit reserved for truly exceptional participation).
==Late and Missed Work Policies==
Because reading responses directly relate to in-class work, reading responses will not be accepted late without extenuating circumstances.
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, all other work will suffer a 10% late penalty if submitted after Brightspace submissions close for that particular submission. There is no penalty for submitting after the due date so long as submissions are still open.


==Communication and Lectures==
==Communication and Lectures==
Line 61: Line 75:


Participation and reading responses/journaling are graded individually.  The course project should also be done on your own unless the instructor allows you to work in pairs.  Having said this, you will be collaborating with other students in this class.  When you have worked with others, outside contributions should be clearly acknowledged as they should be in any academic endeavor.  All participants in the class are expected to act with the highest intellectual integrity, and violations of that integrity may be reported to the academic dean for disciplinary action.
Participation and reading responses/journaling are graded individually.  The course project should also be done on your own unless the instructor allows you to work in pairs.  Having said this, you will be collaborating with other students in this class.  When you have worked with others, outside contributions should be clearly acknowledged as they should be in any academic endeavor.  All participants in the class are expected to act with the highest intellectual integrity, and violations of that integrity may be reported to the academic dean for disciplinary action.
==Use of AI/LLMs==
In this course, students may use AI systems such as ChatGPT that include large language models (LLMs) as part of their research process. Students may use AI systems to spell check and do light grammar checking on their submissions. Students may also use coding assistants such as CoPilot to assist with software development, with the understanding that any code produced by such systems is of questionable provenance which may impact the ability to legitimately license and distributed applications that include generated code.
Any written work, however, '''should not''' include the output of any AI system including any LLMs. I much prefer smaller amounts of student-authored text to large amounts of AI "slop". ''Any inclusion of AI-generated text in submitted work will be considered a violation of academic integrity and will be reported to the Dean for disciplinary action.''


==Course Notes==
==Course Notes==


Notes from class will be posted to the class page.  As part of class participation, students may (optionally) contribute to these notes.
Notes from class will be posted to the class page.  As part of class participation, students may (optionally) contribute to these notes.
==Required Textbooks==
There is no required textbook.  Assigned readings will be posted to the course page throughout the term.


==Course Software==
==Course Software==
Line 76: Line 92:
==University Policies & Resources==
==University Policies & Resources==


===Graduate Academic Advisor===
===Undergraduate Academic Advisors===


The graduate advisors for the School of Computer Science are available via email at Grad.SCS@cunet.carleton.ca. The advisor can assist with information about prerequisites and preclusions, course substitutions/equivalencies, understanding your academic audit and the remaining requirements for graduation. The graduate advisors will also refer students to appropriate resources such as the Science Student Success Centre, Learning Support Services and the Writing Tutorial Services.
The Undergraduate Advisors for the School of Computer Science are available in Room 5302HP; or by email at scs.ug.advisor@cunet.carleton.ca. The undergraduate advisors can assist with information about prerequisites and preclusions, course substitutions/equivalencies, understanding your academic audit and the remaining requirements for graduation. The undergraduate advisors will also refer students to appropriate resources such as the Science Student Success Centre, Learning Support Services and Writing Tutorial Services.


===Student Academic Integrity Policy===
===Graduate Academic Advisors===


Every student should be familiar with the Carleton University student academic integrity policy. A student found in violation of academic integrity standards may be awarded penalties which range from a reprimand to receiving a grade of F in the course or even being expelled from the program or University. Some examples of offences are: plagiarism and unauthorized co-operation or collaboration. Information on this policy may be found in the Graduate Calendar.
The Graduate Advisors for the School of Computer Science are available in Room 5302 HP; or by email at grad.scs@carleton.ca. The graduate advisors can assist with understanding your academic audit and the remaining courses required to meet graduation requirements.


===Plagiarism===
===SCS Computer Laboratory===


As defined by Senate, "plagiarism is presenting, whether intentional or not, the ideas, expression of ideas or work of others as one's own". Such reported offences will be reviewed by the office of the Dean of Science. The Dean of Science now has the following '''minimum penalties''':
Students taking a COMP course can access the SCS computer labs. The lab schedule and location can be found at: https://carleton.ca/scs/tech-support/computer-laboratories/. All SCS computer lab and technical support information can be found at: https://carleton.ca/scs/tech-support/. Technical support staff may be contacted in-person or virtually, see this page for details: https://carleton.ca/scs/tech-support/contact-it-support/.


* First offence, first-year students (< 4.0 cr): Final grade reduction of one full grade (e.g., A- becomes a B-, if that results in an F, so be it)
===Mental Health and Wellness===
* First offence (everyone else): F in the course
* Second offence: One-year suspension from program
* Third offence: Expulsion from the University


More-severe penalties will be applied in cases of egregious offences (e.g., a first-year student accessing CULearn from their phone during an exam will be given an F in the course; bribing a faculty member for a better grade would be grounds for suspension, etc.)
The [https://wellness.carleton.ca/ Carleton Wellness Website] is a wonderful resource link to include in the course outline for students.


===Unauthorized Co-operation or Collaboration===
===Academic Accommodation===


Senate policy states that "to ensure fairness and equity in assessment of term work, students shall not co-operate or collaborate in the completion of an academic assignment, in whole or in part, when the instructor has indicated that the assignment is to be completed on an individual basis".
Carleton is committed to providing academic accessibility for all individuals. You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. The accommodation request processes are outlined on the Academic Accommodations website (https://students.carleton.ca/course-outline/).  


Please see above for the specific collaboration policy for this course.
===Academic Integrity===


===Requests for Academic Accommodation===
Students are expected to uphold the values of academic Integrity, which include fairness, honesty, trust, and responsibility. Examples of actions that compromise these values include but are not limited to plagiarism, accessing unauthorized sites for assignments or tests, unauthorized collaboration on assignments or exams, and using artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT when your assessment instructions say it is not permitted.


You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. For an accommodation request, the processes are as follows:  
Misconduct in scholarly activity will not be tolerated and will result in consequences as outlined in [https://carleton.ca/secretariat/wp-content/uploads/Academic-Integrity-Policy-2021.pdf Carleton University’s Academic Integrity Policy]. A list of standard sanctions in the Faculty of Science can be found [https://science.carleton.ca/academic-integrity/ here].


====Pregnancy obligation====
Additional details about this process can be found on [https://science.carleton.ca/academic-integrity/ the Faculty of Science Academic Integrity website].
Students are expected to familiarize themselves with and abide by [https://carleton.ca/secretariat/wp-content/uploads/Academic-Integrity-Policy-2021.pdf Carleton University’s Academic Integrity Policy].


Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details, visit the Equity Services website: https://carleton.ca/equity/wp-content/uploads/Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf
===Student Rights & Responsibilities===


====Religious obligation====
Students are expected to act responsibly and engage respectfully with other students and members of the Carleton and the broader community. See the [https://carleton.ca/studentaffairs/student-rights-and-responsibilities/#sect1.1 7 Rights and Responsibilities Policy] for details regarding the expectations of non-academic behaviour of students. Those who participate with another student in the commission of an infraction of this Policy will also be held liable for their actions.
 
Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details, visit the Equity Services website: https://carleton.ca/equity/wp-content/uploads/Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf
 
====Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities====
 
If you have a documented disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca for a formal evaluation or contact your PMC coordinator to send your instructor your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning of the term. You must also contact the PMC no later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or exam requiring accommodation (if applicable). After requesting accommodation from PMC, meet with your instructor as soon as possible to ensure accommodation arrangements are made. carleton.ca/pmc
 
====Survivors of Sexual Violence====
 
As a community, Carleton University is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working and living environment where sexual violence will not be tolerated, and is survivors are supported through academic accommodations as per Carleton's Sexual Violence Policy. For more information about the services available at the university and to obtain information about sexual violence and/or support, visit: https://carleton.ca/sexual-violence-support
 
====Accommodation for Student Activities====
Carleton University recognizes the substantial benefits, both to the individual student and for the university, that result from a student participating in activities beyond the classroom experience. Reasonable accommodation must be provided to students who compete or perform at the national or international level. Please contact your instructor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. https://carleton.ca/senate/wp-content/uploads/Accommodation-for-Student-Activities-1.pdf


For more information on academic accommodation, please contact the departmental administrator or visit: https://students.carleton.ca/course-outline
===Student Concerns===


===Medical Certificate===
If you have any concerns regarding this course, your first point of contact is me. Please email me or visit during my student hours, and I will do my best to address your concerns. If I cannot resolve the issue, the next point of contact is the School of Computer Science at studentconcerns@scs.carleton.ca. If the concern remains unresolved, the final point of contact is the Office of the Dean of Science at ODScience@carleton.ca. Please follow this order of contact.


The following is a link to the official medical certificate accepted by Carleton University for the deferral of final examinations or assignments in undergraduate courses. To access the form, please go to https://www.carleton.ca/registrar/forms
Note: You can also bring your concerns to [https://carleton.ca/ombuds/ Ombuds services].

Latest revision as of 20:19, 1 January 2025

Course Information

University of Ottawa Students, please see here to gain access to Brightspace; contact the instructor for lecture Zoom link.

Important dates and deadlines can be found here: https://carleton.ca/registrar/registration/dates/academic-dates/, including class suspension for winter break, and statutory holidays.

Course Calendar Description

A course on computer security from an evolutionary perspective, with the goal of understanding the computer security arms race. Covers models of cooperation and conflict from biology, economics, game theory, evolutionary computation, artificial life, and others. Focus is on an evolutionary analysis of existing defenses at the operating system, application, network, and user levels.

Prerequisite for COMP 4900H: COMP4108 with a minimum grade of A-, or permission of the instructor.

Learning Materials and Other Course-Related Resources

Students are not required to purchase textbooks or other learning materials for this course.

Assigned readings will be posted to the course page throughout the term.

Topics Covered and Learning Outcomes

TBA

Grading

The marking scheme for this course are:

  • 70% for the course project, which should be either a research proposal or a research paper.
    • 2% areas of interest
    • 3% elevator pitch
    • 20% literature review
    • 10% tests/preliminary work
    • 5% presentation
    • 30% research proposal/paper (Exam period)
  • 20% for reading responses and journaling
  • 10% for class participation

Due dates are subject to change. The various parts are explained below.

Course Project

In this course you'll be doing a term project that will produce a research paper or a research proposal. This project has multiple milestones.

You will first submit an areas of interest document that outlines the kinds of projects and the types of software systems you wish to work with. Then, you'll submit an "elevator pitch" which will be a few paragraph summary of your idea, concisely communicating the basic idea for your project. You'll then submit a literature review related to your idea and a report on preliminary findings/tests before finally presenting your work to the class and, finally, submitting your completed paper or proposal. Through this process you should produce work that will either be publishable or is on the path to creating something publishable in the security literature.

Reading Responses & Journaling

For this class you'll maintain an electronic research journal which will detail your ongoing thoughts related to this class. You should record your responses to assigned readings, ideas that arise from class, brainstorming for your class project, and any other relevant thoughts. The instructor will review your journal before each class so he may address any questions or concerns that arise in your writings.

You may use any application to maintain your journal so long as it is easily shared with the course instructor. Journals will be graded as a participation grade, with marks assigned out of 4 for each class.

Class Participation

You are expected to attend most class meetings and participate in asynchronous class discussions. Students making a genuine effort to participate will earn most of these marks (with a bit reserved for truly exceptional participation).

Late and Missed Work Policies

Because reading responses directly relate to in-class work, reading responses will not be accepted late without extenuating circumstances.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, all other work will suffer a 10% late penalty if submitted after Brightspace submissions close for that particular submission. There is no penalty for submitting after the due date so long as submissions are still open.

Communication and Lectures

This course is a virtual course using a mix of synchronous and asynchronous communication. We will use videoconferencing for scheduled class time and an online discussion forum for communication outside of class. The course webpage listed above is the canonical source of information for everything regarding this course except for private information (such as video call links, invites to discussion forums) which is available through the course's Brightspace page.

Collaboration

Participation and reading responses/journaling are graded individually. The course project should also be done on your own unless the instructor allows you to work in pairs. Having said this, you will be collaborating with other students in this class. When you have worked with others, outside contributions should be clearly acknowledged as they should be in any academic endeavor. All participants in the class are expected to act with the highest intellectual integrity, and violations of that integrity may be reported to the academic dean for disciplinary action.

Use of AI/LLMs

In this course, students may use AI systems such as ChatGPT that include large language models (LLMs) as part of their research process. Students may use AI systems to spell check and do light grammar checking on their submissions. Students may also use coding assistants such as CoPilot to assist with software development, with the understanding that any code produced by such systems is of questionable provenance which may impact the ability to legitimately license and distributed applications that include generated code.

Any written work, however, should not include the output of any AI system including any LLMs. I much prefer smaller amounts of student-authored text to large amounts of AI "slop". Any inclusion of AI-generated text in submitted work will be considered a violation of academic integrity and will be reported to the Dean for disciplinary action.

Course Notes

Notes from class will be posted to the class page. As part of class participation, students may (optionally) contribute to these notes.

Course Software

There is no required course software. However, depending on your project you may be creating applications. While support will be provided in class where feasible, ultimately students will be responsible for their own software development environments.

University Policies & Resources

Undergraduate Academic Advisors

The Undergraduate Advisors for the School of Computer Science are available in Room 5302HP; or by email at scs.ug.advisor@cunet.carleton.ca. The undergraduate advisors can assist with information about prerequisites and preclusions, course substitutions/equivalencies, understanding your academic audit and the remaining requirements for graduation. The undergraduate advisors will also refer students to appropriate resources such as the Science Student Success Centre, Learning Support Services and Writing Tutorial Services.

Graduate Academic Advisors

The Graduate Advisors for the School of Computer Science are available in Room 5302 HP; or by email at grad.scs@carleton.ca. The graduate advisors can assist with understanding your academic audit and the remaining courses required to meet graduation requirements.

SCS Computer Laboratory

Students taking a COMP course can access the SCS computer labs. The lab schedule and location can be found at: https://carleton.ca/scs/tech-support/computer-laboratories/. All SCS computer lab and technical support information can be found at: https://carleton.ca/scs/tech-support/. Technical support staff may be contacted in-person or virtually, see this page for details: https://carleton.ca/scs/tech-support/contact-it-support/.

Mental Health and Wellness

The Carleton Wellness Website is a wonderful resource link to include in the course outline for students.

Academic Accommodation

Carleton is committed to providing academic accessibility for all individuals. You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. The accommodation request processes are outlined on the Academic Accommodations website (https://students.carleton.ca/course-outline/).

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to uphold the values of academic Integrity, which include fairness, honesty, trust, and responsibility. Examples of actions that compromise these values include but are not limited to plagiarism, accessing unauthorized sites for assignments or tests, unauthorized collaboration on assignments or exams, and using artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT when your assessment instructions say it is not permitted.

Misconduct in scholarly activity will not be tolerated and will result in consequences as outlined in Carleton University’s Academic Integrity Policy. A list of standard sanctions in the Faculty of Science can be found here.

Additional details about this process can be found on the Faculty of Science Academic Integrity website.

Students are expected to familiarize themselves with and abide by Carleton University’s Academic Integrity Policy.

Student Rights & Responsibilities

Students are expected to act responsibly and engage respectfully with other students and members of the Carleton and the broader community. See the 7 Rights and Responsibilities Policy for details regarding the expectations of non-academic behaviour of students. Those who participate with another student in the commission of an infraction of this Policy will also be held liable for their actions.

Student Concerns

If you have any concerns regarding this course, your first point of contact is me. Please email me or visit during my student hours, and I will do my best to address your concerns. If I cannot resolve the issue, the next point of contact is the School of Computer Science at studentconcerns@scs.carleton.ca. If the concern remains unresolved, the final point of contact is the Office of the Dean of Science at ODScience@carleton.ca. Please follow this order of contact.

Note: You can also bring your concerns to Ombuds services.

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