Courses give students leg up on Internet security

LAWRENCE -- Internet security has always been a concern, but recent terrorism events have highlighted just how vulnerable Americans could be to cyber attacks.

Gary Minden, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Kansas School of Engineering, is helping prepare the next generation of computer experts to thwart would-be cyber attackers. Minden has developed two well-received Internet security courses that examine what the threats are, how great the risk is and what tools and techniques are available to help ensure security.

"People are going to have to be more aware of Internet security," said Minden.

The fall semester Internet security course at KU focuses on such basic issues as authentication, authorization, integrity and privacy.

Over the course of the class, students look at tools and techniques to address these issues. "And then we talk a little bit about the vulnerabilities of the tools and techniques," Minden said. He and his students also probe the issue of risk -- how likely it is that someone will take advantage of the situation. Finally, the course looks at costs of fixing potential problems. "It comes down to the cost of balancing or preventing the weakness versus what I am going to lose."

The second course is a practicum, where student teams apply Internet security tools and techniques on a computer system. Later in the semester, the teams audit each other for the strength and quality of their work. The classes are upper-level electives, but at least 40 percent of the students are undergraduates, Minden said.

Congressional hearings in mid-October helped spotlight the small number of computer security experts and the United States' growing reliance on computers and communications technology in banking, health care, online commerce and e-mail, as well as for national security and public utilities.

"There is concern out there that the problem can multiply quickly," Minden said. Statistics compiled by the Internet-security organization CERT Coordination Center indicate the number of incidents for 2001 could be more than double last year's.

"People are going to be forced into using online transactions because of the costs," Minden said. He pointed to the online health-care enrollment for Kansas state employees as an example.

Cyber attackers might victimize average computer users with something as seemingly innocuous as a probe, as infuriating as denial of Internet service or as heinous as theft of private information. Even corporate information systems face risk.

In June, Minden and Greg Freix, a professor in the KU School of Business, assisted with the CEO Security Summit. During the summit, CEOs of multimillion-dollar corporations in the Kansas City area learned about the importance of Internet security for their businesses. The invitation-only seminar also brought in the FBI and experts in bank security.

Plans are in the works for a second CEO Security Summit later this year, Minden said.

Electrical engineering and computer science students assisted during the seminar, using it as an opportunity to use the knowledge they had gained.

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