Svetlana Peltsverger

The security of cryptographic hashes

Password based or simple authentication is the most commonly used type of authentication. The decrease in resource costs and emergence of grid computing necessitates cryptologists and system architects reevaluate their chosen algorithm and password policies to address the rapidly weakening SHA1 and MD5. The major modern cryptographic hashing methods are easily computed with modern hardware and preimage attacks. Cloud computing and widely-available botnet-building tools have vastly increased the requisite password policy requirements to assure a secure cryptosystem. This paper provides an alternative password complexity schemes suitable for four distinct cryptosystem security levels.

Teaching with security in mind

Security topics have been taught for some time at universities. The most common approach has been to teach a required topic, and then introduce a security module later in the course. We are promoting the notion of teaching security at the same time as main courses material. This helps students to adopt to the idea of writing secure code at an early stage and encourages them to focus on the security issues before beginning coding. While this method has clear advantages, it is not easy to implement in practice. This is partly a result of the facultys luck of awareness about security issues, and the perception of security as an advanced topic. We see security as an extension of the basic concept of input validation, and so a very basic topic. We also propose teaching secure practices as the default model presented to the students, facilitating the adoption of those practices.

Updating the ACM/IEEE 2008 Curriculum in Information Technology (Abstract Only)

At the direction of the ACM Education Board, the IT2017 Task Group was formed with the charge of updating the joint ACM and IEEE Computer Society Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Technology, known as IT2008. The revised document, called IT2017, should be appropriately forward looking given the significant advances in information technology that have occurred since 2008. Participants attending the BOF will contribute their insights and assist with the revision process to update IT2008. Discussions will center on delineating knowledge areas and learning outcomes specific to IT; exploring the current and future roles of IT in computing disciplines; recommending changes to improve the usefulness of the report; and planning further communications to fully engage the academic and professional community in the revision process. The objective is to ensure that the updated document is a forward-looking curriculum framework of the disciplinary content and practices in the field of information technology and remains relevant into 2020 and beyond for incoming students, computing departments with IT programs, accreditation bodies, and employers in the U.S. and anywhere else in the world.

Students research in dynamic VLAN configuration

This paper describes an approach to engage hands-on learners in research activities. The paper provides as an example the research project for IT 6723 Managing Operating and Network Systems course. Projects that combine both hands-on practice and research assignments give students not only knowledge and skills, but also empower students to investigate a topic in-depth. As an example, this paper outlines specifications for dynamic VLAN configuration based on network flow. This type of project encourages research, practice in the development and use of information technology, and promotes student interest in the study of information technology.

Multi-criteria approach in configuration of energy efficient sensor networks

Problem and Motivation: A designing of energy efficient wireless sensor networks is one of the most trendy research topics. In this paper the authors developed a new multi-criteria approach which allows filtering out non-efficient topologies during a phase of designing of a sensor network and also running a self-adjustment process during its functioning. It is shown that the problem of designing of an energy efficient wireless sensor network belongs to the class D of optimization combinatorial problems for which the equivalent recognition problems are NP-complete or open. The D-class (Peltsverger B., Khavronin O. (1999)) is such that according to a decomposition approach there exist particular criteria compatible with the main one, and the recognition task corresponding to a particular criterion always belongs to the P-class problem.

Maintaining balance between theory and practice in information security courses

This paper describes an approach to engage hands-on learners in research activities. As a part of this method, students are required to post a question about each assigned reading and answer at least two questions from their peers. In order to complete this task, students must read assigned textbook chapters and articles as well as perform additional research in order to answer questions. This type of assignment encourages research and promotes student interest in the study of information security.

Controlling connectivity of a clustered mobile communication network

The mobile communication network studied here consists of a group of agents which move in response to external commands to perform a data-gathering task. Connectivity of the network may be disrupted as these uncontrolled agents move out of communication range, preventing transmission of the gathered data. This paper describes an approach to controlling connectivity of a clustered mobile communication network by using a second network of controlled agents which are responsible for data aggregation, message forwarding, and maintenance of network connectivity. Higher Order Sliding Mode (HOSM) observers are used to reconstruct the external commands to the uncontrolled agents, from which their future positions are predicted on a certain time window. When a disruption of network connectivity is predicted and reclustering is accomplished, a controlled agent is moved, by means of HOSM controllers, to the Chebyshev centers of the clusters to prevent that disruption. An intact communication network is thus constantly reconfigured by the reclustering and movement of controlled agents.

The Evolution of the Master of Science in Information Technology Curriculum

This paper describes an ongoing process of assessment that lays the foundation for the success of the Master of Science in Information Technology degree (MSIT). It also presents a plan for a complete revision of the MSIT program using a proposed methodology - a data-driven 360 Degree Review. This methodology provides resources for those interested in program improvement.

Career Trajectory Analysis of Information Technology Alumni: A LinkedIn Perspective

Understanding alumnis career path is critical for an Information Technology (IT) program to engage existing students, get connected to alumni and adapt the curriculum to the ever-changing technology field. LinkedIn, the largest professional networking site, provides a wealth of publicly available career outcomes of educations from higher education institutions. In the paper, we present an alumni database architecture that can extract the data from alumni LinkedIn profiles, transform and load the data in a database for analysis. We collected over 600 LinkedIn profiles of alumni who have graduated with Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees and Master of Science (MS) degrees from an IT program. We analyzed and compared the career trajectory of BSIT and MSIT graduates. Our findings show that graduates from both programs in general were moving towards managerial positions as their career progressed. However, BSIT and MSIT alumni showed some different career paths. BSIT graduates were developed into two different job titles: engineers and managers; while MSIT alumni were gradually growing into more managerial and business types of positions, such as managers and analysts

Enhancing Privacy Education with a Technical Emphasis in IT Curriculum.

The paper describes the development of four learning modules that focus on technical details of how a person’s privacy might be compromised in real-world scenarios. The paper shows how students benefited from the addition of hands-on learning experiences of privacy and data protection to the existing information technology courses. These learning modules raised students’ awareness of potential breaches of privacy as a user as well as a developer. The demonstration of a privacy breach in action helped students to design, configure, and implement technical solutions to prevent privacy violations. The assessment results demonstrate the strength of the technical approach.