CS 5435

Security and Privacy Concepts in the Wild

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

This course is a broad overview of modern computer security and digital privacy. It aims to impart technical and social understanding of how and why security and privacy matter, how to think adversarially, and how (and how not) to design secure systems and products. Topics include authentication, Web and mobile security, network, OS, and low-level software security, elements of applied cryptography, privacy protection technologies, censorship resistance, and security and privacy of emerging platforms, illustrated by studying real-world systems and attacks. Key learning objectives include understanding the role of threat modeling in the design and evaluation of modern computing systems, how exploitation of computing systems works, and approaches to finding and remediating vulnerabilities.

Prerequisites CS 2800 or CS 4820 or permission of instructor.

Enrollment Priority Enrollment limited to: Cornell Tech students.

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025SP, 2024SP, 2022FA, 2021FA

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