Cyber-attacks mounted by malicious attackers have been creating significant damage to various companies and individuals around the globe in the recent years; cybersecurity is now a high priority consideration for the major businesses worldwide. To deepen the practical knowledge in fighting against the cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity competitions are being organized every year by various institutions and organizations. This course prepares interested students with the practical knowledge for taking part in cybersecurity contests. The course will be offered as a 0-credit course in the Fall semester. Enrolled students will learn the common topics in the first 5 weeks of the Fall, getting trained in fundamental knowledge of cybersecurity. Then they will divide into two tracks in the remainder of the Fall. One track will be concentrating on topics like binary analysis, reverse engineering, the other track will be concentrating on topics like web exploitation, cryptography, computer forensics, and other miscellaneous topics. Graded P or F.

• The course consists of 4 hours of class per week. Unpon successfully completion, it will give you 0 credit, and the course name Competitive programming in Cybersecurity I will be shown on your transcript.

• Be able to apply and understand ethical hacking.
• Be able to master the basic knowledge required for dealing with cybersecurity threats.
• Be able to learn the more advanced knowledge for dealing with cybersecurity threats.
• Be familiar with real-world issues related to cybersecurity in various organizations.
• Be familiar with the practical skills in fighting against cybersecurity threats.

• Objective: Encourage students to further explore beyond the track he/she has chosen
• Meaning: When you have completed a work in track A or track B, you will get the corresponding points
• Bonus scheme: This motivates hard-working students without sacrificing the less hard-working students
• Examples:
  • If a student attended all the 12 classes, and he/she gets 75% for all the works of track A, he/she will get (12/12)50%+0.7550%=87.5%
  • If a student attended all the 12 classes and he/she gets 40% for the works of track A, yet he/she also attempts the works of track B and got 50% for the work of track B, he/she will get (12/12)50%+0.450%+0.5*50%=95%
  • theoretically speaking a student could get upto 150% if he/she has done perfectly all the works of track A and track B.