COMPSCI 590J Cyber Effects: Reverse Engineering, Exploit Analysis, and Capability Development
Spring 2023
This 500-level survey course will cover a broad range of topics related to cyber security and operations. This course will include real world studies of computer network operations and attack, with an emphasis on hands-on exercises and projects. The structure of the course will include weekly lectures, discussions, technical assignments, and a final capstone project. Topics will include computer architecture and assembly language, principles of embedded security, the essentials of exploit development and analysis (including using industry standard tools such as Ghidra, and utilizing computer security databases such as CVE), and discussion of real-world events and techniques.
Instructors will be from a cohort of industry cyber effects subject matter experts from the MITRE Corporation.
Nick Merlino is a Cyber Mobile Research Engineer within the Distributed Systems department at the MITRE Corporation. Since he started in 2016, he has supported projects for multiple government agencies spanning from low level analysis to high level development. Nick's focus has been on network security and various aspects of mobile device security. He holds a BS and MS in Computer science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with a concentration in cybersecurity.
Dr. Seth Landsman is a software and cyber engineer who has worked across multiple government agencies to support their unique national security missions. Seth has specific expertise in mobile environments, command and control systems, and system integration and holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Brandeis University.
Dan Walters is a Principal Embedded Security Engineer at The MITRE Corporation, where he has worked in the area of embedded systems since 2006. He helped develop MITRE's Secure Electronics Lab, which researches electronic implementation-security issues such as side-channel leakage, fault induction, and trusted hardware.
Dr. Ed Walters is a Principal Software Systems Engineer at the MITRE Corporation in the Tactical Edge Systems Group. He has a B.S. and an M.S. in Aero/Astro from MIT, an M.S. in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UMass Amherst. He has worked for various companies, including Volvo and Bell Labs, and worked on everything from internet infrastructure to compiler and simulator design for a research processor. At MITRE he has been involved with projects in the fields of Space Communication, Navigation, and Radar Systems. His research interests include computer system and hardware simulation, high-performance computing, and program analysis. On his off time, Ed enjoys cooking, hiking, and spending even more time in front of the computer gaming.
Adam Woodbury is the Chief Engineer for Embedded Security within the Electronic Systems Development and Embedded Security department at the MITRE Corporation, where he has worked since 2003. Adam previously worked at NTRU Cryptosystems where he developed efficient hardware and software implementations of lattice-based public-key cryptography. He holds a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute where he studied efficient implementations for elliptic curve cryptography.