COMP 4108 (Computer Systems Security) Course Notes

This page contains my notes from COMP 4108: Computer Systems Security, which is a course I am taking at Carleton during the Winter 2025 term. All of my notes are mainly taken from Computer Security and the Internet: Tools and Jewels from Malware to Bitcoin by Paul C. Van Oorschot. He is also currently the course instructor. These notes were prepared for my own use while studying for exams and so I do not guarantee that the content presented is complete or accurate. In some places, the wording is more or less directly taken from the textbook; in others, it is completely my own. In others, it may be augmented by lecture notes taken during class.

This course covers Chapters 1, 5–12 of the textbook. I may or may not read and provide notes for the rest of the book. I also do not guarantee that notes from the entire course will be posted. What you get is what you get.

Chapter 1: Security Concepts and Principles

1. Definitions
2. Important Ideas
   • Security Goals and Services
   • Security Policies
   • Risk Assessment and Risk Management
   • Security Analysis
   • Threat Modelling Techniques
   • Threat Modelling, Model-reality Gaps, and Real-world Outcomes
3. Security Principles and Why Security is Hard
   • Design Principles for Security
   • Why Security is Hard