Cyber Defense
EECS 465, Fall 2026
Course Details
| Lectures | Tuesday & Thursday 2:00pm - 2:50pm, 427 Summerfield Hall - In Person |
| Labs |
Monday 4:00pm - 4:50pm, 2003 Eaton Hall - In Person [Section #25525] Wednesday 4:00pm - 4:50pm, 2003 Eaton Hall - In Person [Section #25526] Friday 11:00pm - 11:50pm, 2003 Eaton Hall - In Person [Section #25524] |
Instructor |
Alex Bardas Office hours: Tuesday 11:30am-1:30pm and Thursday 12pm-1pm & 3:15pm-4:15pm CT (Email appointment required for meetings outside office hours or via Zoom/Teams)  : alexbardas
|
| Graduate Teaching Assistant | Bryan Richlinski Office Hours: Monday 3pm-4pm and Wednesday 3pm-4pm CT in 2003 Eaton Hall (Email appointment required for meetings outside office hours or via Zoom/Teams) : b748r023
|
| Graduate Teaching Assistant | Michael Oliver Office Hours: Friday 12pm-1pm CT in 2003 Eaton Hall (Email appointment required for meetings outside office hours or via Zoom/Teams) : mmoliver469
|
ku
eduSyllabus
The syllabus is available through Simple Syllabus: EECS 465 Syllabus (Fall 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.
Aug 25, 2026 |
Lecture 1 | Introduction |
intro-slides |
| Aug 27, 2026 |
Lecture 2 | Networking Terminology, Cybersecurity Certificate, and CyEng Degree |
networking-slides, cert-slides, degree-overview |
Aug 31-Sep 4, 2026 |
Lab 1 | Lab Setup and Clonezilla
iClicker Access Info -- Monday Labs (#25525) |
lab-overview-slides, clonezilla-slides |
| Sep 1, 2026 |
Lecture 3 | Operating Systems (OS) Basics Supplemental readings: |
os-slides |
| Sep 3, 2026 |
Lecture 4 | Linux Command Line Basics Quiz 1 is available on Canvas. Due date: Tuesday, Sep 8, at 11:59pm CT. Supplemental readings: |
basic-commands-slides, LAMP-stack-slides |
| Sep 8, 2026 |
Lecture 5 | Reconnaissance (Part 1) Supplemental readings: |
recon-slides (1/2) | Sep 8-11, 2026 |
Review Lab | Review and Support Lab (Optional) |
lab-review-support-slides |
| Sep 10, 2026 |
Lecture 6 | Reconnaissance (Part 2) Supplemental readings: |
recon-slides (2/2) |
| Sep 14-18, 2026 |
Lab 2 | Reconnaissance Lab |
lab-slides |
| Sep 15, 2026 |
Homework 1 (Lecture 7) |
Introduction to SQL Injections |
hw1, sql-intro-slides |
| Sep 17, 2026 |
Lecture 8 | Exploiting Vulnerabilities and Metasploit Overview |
slides |
| Sep 21-25, 2026 |
Lab 3 | Metasploit Lab |
lab-slides |
| Sep 22, 2026 |
Lecture 9 | Password Cracking (Part 1) Quiz 2 is available on Canvas. Due date: Friday, Sep 25, at 11:59pm CT. Supplemental readings: |
slides |
| Sep 24, 2026 |
Lecture 10 | Password Cracking (Part 2) |
slides |
| Sep 28-Oct 2, 2026 |
Lab 4 | Password Cracking |
lab-slides |
| Sep 29, 2026 |
Lecture 11 | Guest lecture: Cybersecurity (AI, careers and a journey into madness ...) |
slides |
| Oct 1, 2026 |
Report 1 (Lecture 12) |
Crypthography Basics (Part 1) Supplemental readings: |
report1, slides |
| Oct 5-9, 2026 |
Lab 5 | LAMP Lab |
lab-slides, LAMP-commands |
| Oct 6, 2026 |
Lecture 13 | Crypthography Basics (Part 2) Feedback Homework 1: here Advice Report 1: here Quiz 3 is available on Canvas (due Friday, Oct 9, at 11:59pm CT) |
slides |
| Oct 8, 2026 |
Lecture 14 | Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) Supplemental readings: |
slides |
| Oct 12-16, 2026 |
Lab 6 | Cryptography Basics Lab |
lab-slides |
| Oct 13, 2026 |
Lecture 15 | Sniffing Network Traffic Supplemental readings: |
slides |
| Oct 15, 2026 |
Lecture 16 | Interacting with Network Traffic Supplemental readings: | slides |
Oct 17-20, 2026 |
Fall Break (No Monday lab, No Tuesday lecture) |
Enjoy the break! |
Oct 23-25, 2026 |
Review Lab | Review and Support Lab (Optional) |
lab-review-support-slides |
| Oct 22, 2026 |
Homework 2 (Lecture 17) |
Review, Homework 2, and Extra Credit Discussion | hw2 |
| Oct 26-30, 2026 |
Lab 7 | SSH and Sniffing Network Traffic Lab |
lab-slides |
| Oct 27, 2026 |
Lecture 18 | Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) -- Part 1 Supplemental readings: | slides |
| Oct 29, 2026 |
Lecture 19 | Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) -- Part 2 Feedback Report 1: here |
slides |
| Nov 2-6, 2026 |
Lab 8 |
Interacting with Network Traffic - Scapy Lab |
|
| Nov 3, 2026 |
Lecture 20 | Intrusion Detection Systems (Snort) |
slides |
| Nov 5, 2026 |
Homework 3 (Lecture 21) |
Wireless Network Cracking - WEP Supplemental readings: |
hw3, slides |
| Nov 9-13, 2026 |
Lab 9 |
DoS and DDoS Lab |
|
| Nov 10, 2026 |
Lecture 22 | Wireless Network Cracking - WPA, WPA2, and WPA3 | |
| Nov 12, 2026 |
Lecture 23 | Rootkits |
Nov 16-20, 2026 |
Lab 10 | Rootkits Lab |
| Nov 17, 2026 |
Report 2 (Lecture 24) |
Logging and Auditing (Expected deadline: Thursday, December 10) |
|
| Nov 19, 2026 |
Lecture 25 | Introduction to Security Onion | Nov 23, 2026 |
Review Lab | Review and Support Lab (Optional) |
Nov 24, 2026 |
Lecture 26 | Firewalls |
|
| Nov 26, 2026 | Thanksgiving (No Lecture) |
Happy Thanksgiving! | Nov 30-Dec 4, 2026 |
Lab 11 | Cracking Wireless Networks Lab |
| Dec 1, 2026 |
Lecture 27 | Current Research in Cybersecurity Quiz 5 is available on Canvas (due Friday, Dec 4, at 11:59pm CT) |
|
| Dec 3, 2026 |
Lecture 28 | Final Exam Review (Part 1) | Dec 7-10, 2026 |
Review Lab | Review and Support Lab (Optional) |
| Dec 8, 2026 |
Lecture 29 | Final Exam Review (Part 2) | |
| Dec 10, 2026 |
Lecture 30 | Q&A Final Exam and Report 2 (Part 2) | |
Extra Credit
You can earn an extra 1% on your final grade by identifying, reading,
and summarizing one conference research paper from the following venues:
IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (S&P),
ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS),
USENIX Security,
Network and Distributed System Security Symposium (NDSS).
Only these four conferences (from 2023 to 2026) will be accepted.
Requirements:
- The research paper (article) should be related to the material we are covering in class (i.e. cyber defense articles)
- The research paper should be from 2023 or newer.
- Your summary should be between one and two pages long (11pt font, 1-inch margins, single spaced).
- Summarize the content of the research paper based on your understanding.
- Submission details: Your summary should be saved in
one file (.pdf or .txt format)and uploaded via Gradescope (the link will be available in the Canvas Assignments section). For the research paper you have chosen, please state its title, author(s), publishing venue, publication year, and a link (can be a direct link to the research paper or a link to the entry in the society's digital library e.g., an IEEE Xplore link).
File name:yourLastName-465-ec.pdforyourLastName-465-ec.txt(Don't submit .doc, .docx, .odt, or any other file formats; ONLY .pdf or .txt are accepted)
Deadline for submitting the extra-credit assignment:Tuesday (December 8, 2026) at 11:59pm CT
Research papers (article) serving as class reading materials (i.e., posted in the course schedule) can NOT be used for extra credit.
Note! If you are not sure whether an article is appropriate for earning extra credit,
write a few lines about why you think the article is related to the material covered in class
and feel free to contact the instructor.
Note! You can access directly IEEE and ACM articles for free if you are connected to KU's network
(e.g., wireless JAYHAWK network). You can also use the following links (especially when you are off-campus): ACM-Digital-Library, IEEE-Xplore.
USENIX makes all materials available for free from any network. Only articles from the four venues mentioned above can qualify for extra credit.
Important! Read the articles, write your own summary, and you will be rewarded. Do not use GenAI tools such as Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, etc. for generating the summary. The goal of this extra credit assignment is to assess your own understanding of the research paper.
Tentative Roadmap
| Week | Week of | Topic(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8/24 | Introduction | ||
| 2 | 8/31 | Networking Primer and Operating Systems (OS) Basics | Assigning Quiz 1 | |
| 3 | 9/7 | Basic Linux Commands and Reconnaissance | ||
| 4 | 9/14 | Reconnaissance and Introduction to SQL Injections | Assigning Homework 1 | |
| 5 | 9/21 | Exploiting Vulnerabilities and Metasploit | Assigning Quiz 2 | |
| 6 | 9/28 | Password Cracking | Assigning Report 1 | |
| 7 | 10/5 | Crypthography Basics and Secure SHell (SSH) | Assigning Quiz 3 | |
| 8 | 10/12 | Sniffing Network Traffic | ||
| 9 | 10/19 | Interacting with Network Traffic | Fall Break (Tuesday); Assigning Homework 2 |
|
| 10 | 10/26 | DoS/DDoS Attacks | Assigning Quiz 4 | |
| 11 | 11/2 | Wireless Networks Cracking | Assigning Homework 3 | |
| 12 | 11/9 | Rootkits | ||
| 13 | 11/16 | Logging&Auditing and Introduction to Security Onion | Assigning Report 2 | |
| 14 | 11/23 | Firewalls | Thanksgiving Break | |
| 15 | 11/30 | Final Exam Review | Assigning Quiz 5 | |
| 16 | 12/7 | Current Research in Cybersecurity | ||
| 17 | 12/14 | Finals Week |
Acknowledgments
Kabir Panahi and Dalton Brucker-Hahn contributed to creating some of the course materials such as course slides and homework assignments.