Selected Topics in IT-Security
CS 408 | English
Lecturer: Dr. Vasily Mikhalev
Teaching Assistant: Marcel Mildenberger
The large-scale deployment of Internet-based services and the open nature of the Internet come alongside with the increase of security threats against existing services. As the size of the global network grows, the incentives of attackers to abuse the operation of online applications also increase and their advantage in mounting successful attacks becomes considerable.
These cyber-attacks often target the resources, availability, and operation of online services. In the recent years, a considerable number of online services such as Amazon, CNN, eBay, and Yahoo were hit by online attacks; the losses in revenues of Amazon and Yahoo were almost 1.1 million US dollars. With an increasing number of services relying on online resources, security becomes an essential component of every system.
This course aims to increase the security awareness of students and offers them a basic understanding with respect to a variety of interesting topics. After this course, students will be able to (1) learn about symmetric and asymmetric encryption schemes, (2) classify and describe vulnerabilities and protection mechanisms of popular network protocols, web protocols, and software systems (3) analyze / reason about basic protection mechanisms for modern OSs, software and hardware systems.
Exam Information and Dates
The final exam is a 90 minute written in-person exam. You may find up-to-date information on the exam schedule at https://portal2.uni-mannheim.de/portal2...flow. Please also check the “My Studies – My registrations” section in your student portal. The regular and re-sit exam dates, respectively, for the current term will be made available as soon as they have been determined by the university administration.
Lecture and Exercise
See Portal2.
ILIAS & Portal²
Please register via Portal² to gain access to our ILIAS course in which you may find all lecture materials.
Once registered, you may access the course using the following URL: https://ilias.uni-mannheim.de/goto.php/crs/1728176
Lecture Topics (tentative)
- Security Goals
- Crash Course in Cryptography
- Access Control
- Authentication
- Social Engineering
- E-Mail Security
- System Vulnerabilities
- Malware
- Network Security
- Web Security
- Bitcoin
- Privacy
Lecture Roadmap (2026)
| Date | Time | Room | Topics | Lecturers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 09 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Intro to and organization of this lecture | Mikhalev |
| Feb. 13 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Feb. 16 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Introduction | Mikhalev |
| Feb. 20 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | Exercise Session 01 | Mildenberger |
| Feb. 23 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Access Control | Mikhalev |
| Feb. 27 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | Exercise Session 02 | Mildenberger |
| Mar. 02 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Authentication | Mikhalev |
| Mar. 06 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | --- | --- |
| Mar. 09 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Social Engineering | Mikhalev |
| Mar. 13 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | Exercise Session 03 | Mildenberger |
| Mar. 16 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | E-Mail Security | Mikhalev |
| Mar. 20 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | --- | --- |
| Mar. 23 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Vulnerabilities | Mikhalev |
| Mar. 27 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | Exercise Session 04 | Mildenberger |
| Mar. 30 | --- | --- | /** Easter | --- |
| Apr. 03 | --- | --- | * ... | --- |
| Apr. 06 | --- | --- | * ... | --- |
| Apr. 10 | --- | --- | * Break **/ | --- |
| Apr. 13 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Malware | Mikhalev |
| Apr. 17 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | --- | --- |
| Apr. 20 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | WLAN Security | Mikhalev |
| Apr. 24 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | Exercise Session 05 | Mildenberger |
| Apr. 27 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Network Security | Mikhalev |
| May 01 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| May 04 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Web Security | Mikhalev |
| May 08 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | Exercise Session 06 | Mildenberger |
| May 11 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Bitcoin | Mikhalev |
| May 15 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | --- | --- |
| May 18 | 08:30 – 10:00 | A5, B1.43 | Privacy | Mikhalev |
| May 22 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | Exercise Session 07 | Mildenberger |
| May 25 | --- | --- | //Pentecost Monday (Public Holiday) | --- |
| May 29 | 13:45 – 15:15 | A5, C0.15 | Lecture and Q'n'A | All |
Tentative Agenda (Last update on: 2026-02-05)