Proposals. Project proposals are due September 20. A proposal should be 2-3 pages long and include the following:

Evaluation. At the end of the project, each team should produce a workshop-quality 10-page paper with novel research results.

Project ideas. These are only suggestions. You are encouraged to propose your own topic. Some sample projects from previous years can be found below.

Implement a software protection method

Design and implement a prototype of a new tool for (1) preventing or containing execution of malicious code, or (2) finding security vulnerabilities in existing programs. Evaluate its usefulness against various attacks. Examples:

Design a secure software system

You have a lot of freedom to choose your system, but your proposal must be very specific about the project's goals and deliverables.

Design and/or investigate a privacy protection system

Choose an existing or proposed privacy-enhancing system and rigorously analyze its strengths and/or weaknesses. You may also propose and implement a new tool for protecting privacy. Examples:

Analyze a secure network protocol

Using a formal verification tool or manual analysis, either prove a network protocol secure or discover security flaws. Examples of protocols (ask the instructor for specific references):

Examples of protocol analysis tools: ProVerif; Murphi; AVISPA; Constraint solver (see also CoProVe); MOCHA.

Analyze a software system

Analyze a substantial program or suite of programs. Your objective is to re-discover known vulnerabilities or try to find new ones. Look for both design and implementation vulnerabilities. I suggest choosing a popular open-source program from, for example, SourceForge. Pick a program that you find interesting and would like to learn more about.

I recommend using an analysis tool to start. Sample tools include MOPS, Cqual, flawfinder, and Splint. Feel free to use a tool not from the list, or even develop your own tool. If you use an existing tool, your report should include a detailed evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses.

Do a theoretical study

Examples: Talk to the instructor if you are interested in a more theoretical project.

Sample projects from past years