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-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-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 |
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.