About Network and Computer Security

6.857 is an upper-level undergraduate, first-year graduate course on network and computer security. It fits within the department's Computer Systems and Architecture Engineering concentration. Topics covered include (but are not limited to) the following: Techniques for achieving security in multi-user computer systems and distributed computer systems; Cryptography: secret-key, public-key, digital signatures; Authentication and identification schemes; Intrusion detection: viruses; Formal models of computer security; Secure operating systems; Software protection; Security of electronic mail and the World Wide Web; Electronic commerce: payment protocols, electronic cash; Firewalls; and Risk assessment.