Cyber Defense
EECS 465, Spring 2026
Course Details
| Lectures | Tuesday & Thursday 2:00pm - 2:50pm, 1005 Haworth Hall - In Person |
| Labs |
Monday 4:00pm - 4:50pm, 2003 Eaton Hall - In Person [Section #57402] Wednesday 11:00pm - 11:50pm, 2003 Eaton Hall - In Person [Section #56030] Friday 11:00pm - 11:50pm, 2003 Eaton Hall - In Person [Section #56029] |
Instructor |
Alex Bardas Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12:30pm - 1:30pm in 2040 Eaton Hall (Email appointment is needed to schedule a meeting over Zoom)  : alexbardas
|
| Graduate Teaching Assistant | Michael Oliver Office Hours: Monday 3pm - 4pm and Wednesday 12pm - 1pm in 2003 Eaton Hall (Email appointment is needed to schedule a meeting over Zoom) : mmoliver469
|
| Graduate Teaching Assistant | Bryan Richlinski Office Hours: Wednesday 9:30am - 10:30am and Friday 12pm - 1pm in 2003 Eaton Hall (Email appointment is needed to schedule a meeting over Zoom) : b748r023
|
| Graduate Teaching Assistant | Mohd Mamoon Office Hours: Monday 11am - 12pm in 2003 Eaton Hall (Email appointment is needed to schedule a meeting over Zoom) : mohdmamoon
|
ku
eduSyllabus
The syllabus is available through Simple Syllabus: EECS 465 Syllabus (Spring 2026).
Check the syllabus frequently since its content is subject to change throughout the semester.
Announcements: You are responsible for all announcements we make in class (lectures and labs), over Canvas, and/or email. Announcements may include information about assignments, changes in the syllabus, etc.
Schedule
NOTE: Schedules are tentative and subject to change.
Course Schedule
Updated on a regular basis. Use your KU Online ID (all numeric is not correct) and password to access the slides and other materials.
Jan 20, 2026 |
Lecture 1 | Introduction, Undergraduate Cybersecurity Certificate, and Cybersecurity Engineering Degree |
intro-slides, cert-slides, degree-overview |
| Jan 22, 2026 |
Lecture 2 | Networking Terminology and Clonezilla |
networking-slides |
Jan 26-30, 2026 |
Lab 1 | Lab Setup and Clonezilla
iClicker Access Info -- Monday Labs (#57402) |
lab-overview-slides, clonezilla-slides |
| Jan 27, 2026 |
Lecture 3 | Operating Systems (OS) Basics Supplemental readings:
|
os-slides |
| Jan 29, 2026 |
Lecture 4 | Linux Command Line Basics Quiz 1 is available on Canvas. Due date: Monday, Feb 2, at 11:59pm CT. Supplemental readings: |
basic-commands-slides, LAMP-stack-slides |
| Feb 2-6, 2025 |
Lab 2 |
LAMP |
lab2-slides, LAMP-useful-commands |
| Feb 3, 2026 |
Lecture 5 | Reconnaissance (Part 1) Supplemental readings: |
recon-slides (1/2) |
| Feb 5, 2026 |
Lecture 6 | Reconnaissance (Part 2) Supplemental readings:
|
recon-slides (2/2) |
| Feb 9-13, 2025 |
Lab 3 |
Reconnaissance |
lab3-slides |
| Feb 10, 2026 |
Homework 1 (Lecture 7) |
Introduction to SQL Injections
|
hw1, sql-intro-slides |
| Feb 12, 2026 |
Lecture 8 | Exploiting Vulnerabilities and Metasploit Overview |
slides |
Tentative Roadmap
| Week | Week of | Topic(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/19 | Introduction | ||
| 2 | 1/26 | Networking Primer and Operating Systems (OS) Basics | Assigning Quiz 1 | |
| 3 | 2/2 | Basic Linux Commands and Reconnaissance | ||
| 4 | 2/9 | Reconnaissance and Introduction to SQL Injections | Assigning Homework 1 | |
| 5 | 2/16 | Exploiting Vulnerabilities and Metasploit | Assigning Quiz 2 | |
| 6 | 2/23 | Password Cracking | Assigning Report 1 | |
| 7 | 3/2 | Crypthography Basics and Secure SHell (SSH) | Assigning Quiz 3 | |
| 8 | 3/9 | Sniffing and Interacting with Network Traffic | ||
| 9 | 3/16 | Spring Break | No Lectures&Labs | |
| 10 | 3/23 | DoS/DDoS Attacks | Assigning Homework 2 | |
| 11 | 3/30 | Wireless Networks Cracking | Assigning Quiz 4 | |
| 12 | 4/6 | Rootkits | Assigning Homework 3 | |
| 13 | 4/13 | Logging&Auditing | Assigning Report 2 | |
| 14 | 4/20 | Introduction to Security Onion | Assigning Quiz 5 | |
| 15 | 4/27 | Firewalls | ||
| 16 | 5/4 | Final Exam Review and Current Research in Cybersecurity | ||
| 17 | 5/11 | Finals Week |
Acknowledgments
Kabir Panahi and Dalton Brucker-Hahn contributed to creating some of the course materials such as course slides and homework assignments.