Update on UMCP Master's of Engineering in Cybersecuriy (1-16-2013)
So I thought I would start a new thread to just regularly (at the of each semester) update, so that anyone interested in the program could follow along and get an idea of how the courses are structured. Below are my schedule of courses:
Fall 2012
ENPM 808 Programming in C for Cybersecurity Applications (3 credits). This course teaches the fundamentals of programming in C and the skills including data structures and algorithms that students need for solving typical telecommunication engineering problems in cyber security area by writing programs in C. Control flow statement, arrays, pointers and dynamic memory allocation will be reviewed. Developing data structures such as queues, stacks and linked lists and network applications including sockets, packet sniffing in C will be discussed. The course concludes with an introduction to data encryption and basic programming technics for addressing data security related issues. In addition to the weekly reading and programming assignments, students are required to complete a final project and make a presentation.
ENPM 808 Networks and Protocols (3 credits) This course provides a deep understanding of TCP/IP protocol suit and routing in the internet. The course topics are: overview of TCP/IP, basics of IP protocol, basics of TCP protocol, Network Address Translation (NAT), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Domain Name Service (DNS), IPv6, Concepts of routing (Bellman-Ford and Dijkstra algorithms), Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), Enhance Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).
Review(s):
ENPM 808 Programming in C for Cybersecurity Applications (3 credits - w/ Professor Ganesan)
Fairly interesting program, but not the greatest professor (imo) to teach a programming class of this nature - he was one of those professors that simply read off the slides, offered very little help outside of class, and created perplexing exams that had little to do with the homework assignments that were given to us. The class itself was more an introductory C course that occasionally touched on principals of security in regards to programming as opposed to a full-blown C security course. Which I personally did not mind as I had very little exposure to C coming into it - though I do currently work as a software engineer, albeit primarily working with Java. Overall, I would say I built up a nice foundation for C through the course and definitely picked up a few things to be concientious of when programming, primarily in regards to security and error handling. However, I wouldn't say the course was anything mind-blowing or that it provided anything that I wouldn't of likely have picked up given continued exposure to programming. Again, this is all just my personal opinion, though.
ENPM 808 Networks and Protocols (3 credits - w/ Professor Scoggins)
Really interesting class, would highly recommend it for anyone pursuing a networking track. Definitely felt like the class gave you a very solid foundation on which to build, especially if you were planning on taking something such as the CCNP. The professor was very enjoyable and was incredibly accommodating to students needs as she understood the hectic and often times chaotic nature of graduate student's lives. Though she did have a bit of an accent, the class itself was fairly straightforward with 2 homework assignments, one project (choice of either a presentation or research paper), and two take home exams. Students were offered the chance to re-submit both homework assignments and the project, but exam scores were final. Though the course touched very little on actual network security, it did provide a thorough examination of modern day networks and protocols, and gave a very thorough introduction to wireless networks. Though the material at times seemed a little dry, it was certainly very informative and should help in completing another one of the core courses in the program; Network Security (3 credits).
Hope that helps someone.
