Computer Security 101
RedNova News - Technology - Computer Security 101: "By Linda Conner Lambeck, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport
Oct. 3--NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The computer lab tucked into a corridor at Jennings Hall at Southern Connecticut State University may not look it, but it's sick.
Viruses run rampant. Firewalls are frowned on. Here, hacking is not only encouraged, it's a course requirement.
'Last week, I went onto a computer in the back room. Their homework was to figure out what I did and log into my fake account,' said Lisa Lancor, an associate professor of computer science.
Without meeting the enemy head on, Lancor asks, how else will tomorrow's computer pros defend their networks and machines?
The coordinator of Southern's graduate computer science program, Lancor said Web Security, a new graduate-level elective, is part of a growing trend -- and so popular she had to break the lab into two sections.
There are eight computers equipped to handle the variety of vulnerabilities to which they are regularly subjected, but Lancor hopes to double that number shortly. The computers are regularly detached from the university's network to prevent system infection.
The course covers worms, bugs and other Internet ailments, but most of the time it is devoted to rooting out and counteracting security weaknesses, such as Trojan horses -- benign-looking links that unleash malicious programs when clicked -- and "phishing schemes," where a user is lured to a site in hopes of scamming private information for identity theft.
One whole class is devoted to the anatomy of a hack.
This night, the class was learning about proxy servers -- a software middleman between Web servers and browsers that in the wrong hands can intercept, alter or steal information.
"It's like a military approach. We want them prepared for any kind of attack. To be able to look for vulnerabilities in these applications," said Lancor.
Everyone in the master's-level course signs an ethics statement before they take the course. All have backgrounds in computer science.
Hoang Nyugen, 27, of Milford, learned to build and fix computers as an undergrad. Now he wants to be a programmer. If nothing else, the course has convinced him to beef up the firewalls on his home computer.
Sandra Davis, a mechanical design engineer from Hartford, said the course will help advance her career in software design -- and help her finance a car on a secure Web site.
"This site, even though it says it's secure, I know it isn't," said Davis, pointing at a poorly designed Web application it would be easy to hack into and intercept sensitive information such as credit card numbers.
"What she's showing us here could be used for quality control on [the] Web development projects I do," said Brian Cavanaugh, a systems administrator from Hamden.
Because the current undergraduate program in computer science is already packed with information, Lancor said those students don't hear too much about Web security.
But, in part because it's a skill set she is fairly certain won't be outsourced any time soon, Lancor said she is hoping to make computer security an undergraduate elective in the not-too-distant future. "
Oct. 3--NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The computer lab tucked into a corridor at Jennings Hall at Southern Connecticut State University may not look it, but it's sick.
Viruses run rampant. Firewalls are frowned on. Here, hacking is not only encouraged, it's a course requirement.
'Last week, I went onto a computer in the back room. Their homework was to figure out what I did and log into my fake account,' said Lisa Lancor, an associate professor of computer science.
Without meeting the enemy head on, Lancor asks, how else will tomorrow's computer pros defend their networks and machines?
The coordinator of Southern's graduate computer science program, Lancor said Web Security, a new graduate-level elective, is part of a growing trend -- and so popular she had to break the lab into two sections.
There are eight computers equipped to handle the variety of vulnerabilities to which they are regularly subjected, but Lancor hopes to double that number shortly. The computers are regularly detached from the university's network to prevent system infection.
The course covers worms, bugs and other Internet ailments, but most of the time it is devoted to rooting out and counteracting security weaknesses, such as Trojan horses -- benign-looking links that unleash malicious programs when clicked -- and "phishing schemes," where a user is lured to a site in hopes of scamming private information for identity theft.
One whole class is devoted to the anatomy of a hack.
This night, the class was learning about proxy servers -- a software middleman between Web servers and browsers that in the wrong hands can intercept, alter or steal information.
"It's like a military approach. We want them prepared for any kind of attack. To be able to look for vulnerabilities in these applications," said Lancor.
Everyone in the master's-level course signs an ethics statement before they take the course. All have backgrounds in computer science.
Hoang Nyugen, 27, of Milford, learned to build and fix computers as an undergrad. Now he wants to be a programmer. If nothing else, the course has convinced him to beef up the firewalls on his home computer.
Sandra Davis, a mechanical design engineer from Hartford, said the course will help advance her career in software design -- and help her finance a car on a secure Web site.
"This site, even though it says it's secure, I know it isn't," said Davis, pointing at a poorly designed Web application it would be easy to hack into and intercept sensitive information such as credit card numbers.
"What she's showing us here could be used for quality control on [the] Web development projects I do," said Brian Cavanaugh, a systems administrator from Hamden.
Because the current undergraduate program in computer science is already packed with information, Lancor said those students don't hear too much about Web security.
But, in part because it's a skill set she is fairly certain won't be outsourced any time soon, Lancor said she is hoping to make computer security an undergraduate elective in the not-too-distant future. "
posted by Ben | 
|
<< Home