Obtain basic knowledge of computer security, including security protocols and basic cryptography. A project is part of the course, in which students apply the learned skills and insight and further improve reporting and presentation skills.

Using examples from operating systems used in practice a number of security principles will be discussed. Systems use several methods for protection: plaintext passwords, one-time passwords, encrypted passwords, public/private key pairs and certificates. Networks are protected with firewalls and network layer encryption. The course discusses remote access through SSH, secured web transactions using SSL/TLS, single signon with Kerberos, secure email using PGP/GPG, IPsec and key management (PKIs). Soft aspects of security, such as social engineering, are discussed. Since much of security in general is based on cryptography, its basic principles and mathematical background are part of the content.