Cyber Defense
EECS 465, Fall 2025
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 #28375] Wednesday 4:00pm - 4:50pm, 2003 Eaton Hall - In Person [Section #28376] Friday 11:00pm - 11:50pm, 2003 Eaton Hall - In Person [Section #28374] |
Instructor |
Alex Bardas Office: 2040 Eaton Hall Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday 12:30pm - 1:30pm CT (Email appointment is needed to schedule a meeting over Zoom: meeting details)  : alexbardas
|
| Graduate Teaching Assistant | Michael Oliver Office Hours: Wednesday 3:00pm - 4:00pm CT in 2003 Eaton Hall (Email appointment is needed to schedule a meeting over Zoom: meeting details) : mmoliver469
|
| Lab Manager and Grader | Mohd Mamoon Office Hours: Monday 11:00am - 12:00pm CT in 2003 Eaton Hall (Email appointment is needed to schedule a meeting over Zoom: meeting details) : mohdmamoon
|
ku
eduSyllabus
The syllabus is available through Simple Syllabus: EECS 465 Syllabus (Fall 2025).
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.
Aug 19, 2025 |
Lecture 1 | Introduction, Undergraduate Cybersecurity Certificate, and Cybersecurity Engineering Degree |
intro-slides, cert-slides, degree-overview |
| Aug 21, 2025 |
Lecture 2 | Networking Terminology and Clonezilla |
networking-slides |
Aug 25-29, 2025 |
Lab 1 | Lab Setup and Clonezilla
iClicker Access Info -- Monday Labs (#28375) |
lab-overview-slides, clonezilla-slides |
| Aug 26, 2025 |
Lecture 3 | Operating Systems (OS) Basics Supplemental readings:
|
os-slides |
| Aug 28, 2025 |
Lecture 4 | Linux Command Line Basics Quiz 1 is available on Canvas. Due date: Tuesday, Sep 2, at 11:59pm CT. Supplemental readings: |
basic-commands-slides, LAMP-stack-slides |
| Sep 2, 2025 |
Lecture 5 | Reconnaissance (Part 1) Supplemental readings: |
recon-slides (1/2) |
| Sep 2-5, 2025 |
Review Lab |
Review and Support Lab (Labor Day Week): Clonezilla, Kali, and Linux Commands |
review/support-slides |
| Sep 4, 2025 |
Lecture 6 | Reconnaissance (Part 2) Supplemental readings:
|
recon-slides (2/2) |
| Sep 8-12, 2025 |
Lab 2 |
LAMP, Nmap, and Nessus |
lab2-slides, LAMP-useful-commands |
| Sep 9, 2025 |
Homework 1 (Lecture 7) |
Introduction to SQL Injections
|
hw1, sql-intro-slides |
| Sep 11, 2025 |
Lecture 8 | Exploiting Vulnerabilities and Metasploit Overview |
slides |
| Sep 15-19, 2025 |
Lab 3 |
Exploiting Vulnerabilities & Metasploit Overview |
lab3-slides |
| Sep 16, 2025 |
Guest Lecture (Lecture 9) |
Intro to Cyber Security (A Journey into Madness ...) Quiz 2 is available on Canvas. Due date: Friday, Sep 19, at 11:59pm CT. |
slides |
| Sep 18, 2025 |
Lecture 10 | Password Cracking (Part 1) Supplemental readings: |
slides |
Tentative Roadmap
| Week | Week of | Topic(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8/18 | Introduction | ||
| 2 | 8/25 | Networking Primer and Operating Systems (OS) Basics | Assigning Quiz 1 | |
| 3 | 9/1 | Basic Linux Commands and Reconnaissance | ||
| 4 | 9/8 | Reconnaissance and Introduction to SQL Injections | Assigning Homework 1 | |
| 5 | 9/15 | Exploiting Vulnerabilities and Metasploit | Assigning Quiz 2 | |
| 6 | 9/22 | Password Cracking | Assigning Report 1 | |
| 7 | 9/29 | Crypthography Basics | Assigning Quiz 3 | |
| 8 | 10/6 | Secure SHell (SSH) | ||
| 9 | 10/13 | Sniffing Network Traffic | Fall Break | |
| 10 | 10/20 | Interacting with Network Traffic | Assigning Homework 2 | |
| 11 | 10/27 | DoS/DDoS attacks | Assigning Quiz 4 | |
| 12 | 11/3 | Wireless Networks Cracking | Assigning Homework 3 | |
| 13 | 11/10 | Rootkits | Assigning Quiz 5 | |
| 14 | 11/17 | Logging&Auditing and Introduction to Security Onion | Assigning Report 2 | |
| 15 | 11/24 | Firewalls | Thanksgiving Break | |
| 16 | 12/1 | Final Exam Review and Current Research in Cybersecurity | ||
| 17 | 12/8 | Finals Week |
Acknowledgments
Kabir Panahi and Dalton Brucker-Hahn contributed to creating some of the course materials such as course slides and homework assignments.