This is a graduate-level course on Advanced Computer Security and Privacy. We will meet three times a week in some weeks, and no classes in some weeks. Please see the schedule below to know which classes are canceled.

Class Discussions.

Time: 9:30-10:45 am on MWF.
Location: ENGR HALL 3355

Office Hours: On request. Send me an email to meet.

Class Notes: OneNote [FA25] CS 782

Books

There is no textbook for this class. We will be reading 20-24 research papers in the class. For background materials, refer to the related work section of the papers. For a quick primer on cryptography you can use An Introduction to Cryptography.

Assignments.

There are four main assignments of the class:

(20 pts) Paper reviews/discussions. (Individual) In every session, we will discuss 1 paper (or 2 in a couple of lectures). You have to read the paper(s) and write detailed reviews before 8:30 am on the day of the class. Remember to be precise, critical, but constructive while reviewing. Avoid common pitfalls. See here for some idea about the review format.
(20 pts) Paper presentation. (Group of 1-2) You have to present one of the papers in the class. You can use the slides from the authors' or conference website. You can meet me early to make sure your presentation is up to the mark. This can be done in a group of 2.
(10 pts) Attack presentation. (Group of 2) Present one cool security attack in the class. This is, again, a group assignment with group size 2. See here for some suggestions on attacks to demonstrate in the class.
(50 pts) Project. (Group of 2-3) The substantial part of the course is to work on a long project. You have to pick a topic to explore. Bonus points for coming up with your own project idea. Else, here are some project ideas and more details.

To schedule all of your presentations, directly edit the shared schedule doc (shared with your wisc.edu emails on canvas).

Please refer to Course Syllabus for academic integrity, inclusion, diversity, and accommodation for students with different abilities.

Schedule (Fall 2025) -(Tentative)