CSCI 784 - Secure Software Analysis and Design

3 Credits
This course takes a close look at software as a mechanism for attack, as a tool for protecting resources, and as a resource to be defended. Topics covered include the software design process; choices of programming languages, operating systems, databases and distributed object platforms for building secure systems; common software vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows and race conditions; auditing software; proving properties of software; software and data watermarking; code obfuscation; tamper resistant software; and the benefits of open and closed source development. Students will demonstrate their ability to produce defect free code from well-known classes of vulnerabilities, including but not limited to design errors, implementation errors, timing errors, and trust.