695.712.8VL - Authentication Technologies

Course Structure

The course is lecture-oriented.  Each week, there will be a lecture, and online student discussion of relevant events, news, or applications.  There are project-related assignments scattered throughout the course.  

Students will be engaged (and evaluated) through

• Background readings
• Project
• In-Class and Canvas Participation
• Final Exam covering the major points of the course

We all benefit from each other's learning, so students are expected to participate in class.  The projects will be either individual, or group, and are meant to teach the student something about the topic as well as to educate the rest of the class on that topic.

Course Topics

Lesson Plan (some lessons involve multiple lectures)

Lesson	Theme	Topics	Dates (subj to change)
L1	Introduction	Introductions Overview, Expectations Trust Concepts Usability Security/Attacks Technologies/Protocols MFA model (know, have, are, do…) Security questions (dog name, etc)	Aug 30
Sep 6 - Labor Day
L2	Authentication/ Something You Know	Passwords, Hashing, Storage Entropy calculations Password Salts and Crackers Hashcat	Sep 13 -Project Ideas
L3	Human Factors, Authorization	Key Derivation Functions Halting KDF Password managers Mental algorithmsGraphical Passwords2D passwords	Sep 20 -Project Topics Sep 27
L4	Something Others Know	PKI, Certificates Certificate authorities and chain of trust OCSP/CRL revocationFederationBrowser Trust CacheAttacks, Deep Packet InspectionAttribute Certs, Identity EncryptionEmail digital signatures, OpenPGP	Oct 4 - Proposals Due Oct 11 -Proposal Grades ReturnedProjects Approved
L5	Something You Have	Smart cards Payment cards SecurID / One Time PadsDUO, Yubikey	Oct 18 Oct 25
SB		Student Background Briefs	Nov 1 - Project Background Brief
L6	Something You Are, Do, and Where You Are	Trusted Platform Modules/Trusted boot	Nov 8 - Project Background Grades Returned (email)
L7	Something You Are, Do, and Somewhere You Are	Biometrics (incl. rekeyable) PUFs	Nov 15
Nov 23 - Thanksgiving
L8	Authentication Defenses/ Research	Location-based auth Kerberos (form of single sign-on) Moving target networks	Nov 29 -Draft Papers due for redlining
SB		Student Briefs Review for Final	Dec 6 - Project BriefsDraft Redlines due back
FX			Dec 13 -Final ExamTurn in final paperTurn in redlines
LX	Additional Topics - may be substituted as the course goes along	Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM) Homomorphic One-Way Authentication Behavior-based auth (ZK Protocols?) Intel SGX (or other) SSL/TLS, IPsec VPNs Identity Management DARPA’s Dynamic Coalitions Visual Passwords (e.g. Capchas) Dallas’ Systems Thinking Zero Knowledge Proofs Advanced Authentication Protocols Dolev-Yao Model and Protocol Analysis Formal Methods Byzantine Generals and distributed consensus Diffie Hellman Key Agreement Email Phishing Multifactor protos, issues (sig, non-repud) Phone-based authentication protocols Group Key Agreement (and/or one-way function trees)

Course Goals

To foster critical thinking about authentication technologies and applications in cybersecurity, and to provide a survey of relevant techniques.

Textbooks

No textbook.

Other Materials & Online Resources

Materials/papers as identified in lectures.

Required Software

No software required.

Student Coursework Requirements

Class Preparation and Participation	10%
Project Proposal	10%
Project Background Brief	20%
Project Final Brief/Paper	30%
Final Examination	30%

Grading Policy

Score Range/ Letter Grade: 100-98= A+... 97-94= A... 93-90= A−... 89-87= B+... 86-83= B... 82-80= B−... 79-77= C+... 76-73= C... 72-70= C−... 69-67= D+... 66-63= D... <63= F

Course Policies

Personal Wellbeing

If you are struggling with anxiety, stress, depression or other mental health related concerns, please consider connecting with the Johns Hopkins Student Assistance Program (JHSAP). If you are concerned about a friend, please encourage that person to seek out our services. JHSAP can be reached at 443-287-7000 or https://jhsap.org/

Tutoring Website

Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals offers a tutoring connection network that allows students to connect with other Johns Hopkins Engineering students or alumni for tutoring services. This service allows students to search a list of courses to “Find a Tutor” or complete a profile to “Become a Tutor.” More information about this service can be found on the tutoring website (https://tutor.ep.jhu.edu/).

Academic Policies

Deadlines for Adding, Dropping, and Withdrawing from Courses

Students may add a course up to one week after the start of the term for that particular course. Students may drop courses according to the drop deadlines outlined in the EP academic calendar. Between the 6th week of the class and prior to the final withdrawal deadline, a student may withdraw from a course with a W on their academic record. A record of the course will remain on the academic record with a W appearing in the grade column to indicate that the student registered and withdrew from the course. 

Academic Misconduct Policy

All students are required to read, know, and comply with the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) / Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Procedures for Handling Allegations of Misconduct by Full-Time and Part-Time Graduate Students. This policy prohibits academic misconduct, including but not limited to the following: cheating or facilitating cheating; plagiarism; reuse of assignments; unauthorized collaboration; alteration of graded assignments; and unfair competition. Course materials (old assignments, texts, or examinations, etc.) should not be shared unless authorized by the course instructor. Any questions related to this policy should be directed to EP’s academic integrity officer at ep-academic-integrity@jhu.edu.

Students with Disabilities - Accommodations and Accessibility

Johns Hopkins University values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing welcoming, equitable, and accessible educational experiences for all students. Our courses are designed with a proactive approach to accessibility to minimize the need for disability disclosure and accommodation requests, but we recognize that you may need additional support. Students with disabilities (including those with psychological conditions, medical conditions, and temporary disabilities) can request accommodations for this course by providing an Accommodation Letter issued by Student Disability Services (SDS). Please request accommodations for this course as early as possible to provide time for effective communication and arrangements.  For further information or to start the process of requesting accommodations, please contact EP Student Disability Services at ep-disability-svcs@jhu.edu. 

Student Conduct Code

The fundamental purpose of the JHU regulation of student conduct is to promote and to protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically. For a full description of the code please visit the Student Conduct Code website.

Classroom Climate

JHU is committed to creating a classroom environment that values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that all students bring. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Fostering an inclusive climate is important. Research and experience show that students who interact with peers who are different from themselves learn new things and experience tangible educational outcomes. At no time in this learning process should someone be singled out or treated unequally on the basis of any seen or unseen part of their identity. If you have concerns in this course about harassment, discrimination, or any unequal treatment, or if you seek accommodations or resources, please reach out to the course instructor directly. Reporting will never impact your course grade. You may also share concerns with your program chair, the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, or the Office of Institutional Equity. In handling reports, people will protect your privacy as much as possible, but faculty and staff are required to officially report information for some cases (e.g. sexual harassment).

Course Auditing

When a student enrolls in an EP course with “audit” status, the student must reach an understanding with the instructor as to what is required to earn the “audit.” If the student does not meet those expectations, the instructor must notify the EP Registration Team (EP-Registration@exchange.johnshopkins.edu) in order for the student to be retroactively dropped or withdrawn from the course (depending on when the "audit" was requested and in accordance with EP registration deadlines). All lecture content will remain accessible to auditing students, but access to all other course material is left to the discretion of the instructor.