Teaching Computer Security: Thoughts from the Field

Many researchers and engineers first learn about computer security in a classroom. In this interactive workshop, four professors will share lessons and opinions about how and when to teach security. What are the “right” security topics to teach? What is the best time in a curriculum to introduce students to security? And must the entire burden of security education fall on the computing disciplines? If you teach (or plan to teach in the future), come participate in this workshop.

David Evans is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Virginia, where he leads the Security Research Group and teaches courses on just about everything in computing other than computer security. He is the author of an open computer science textbook, a children's book on combinatorics and computability, and teacher of popular MOOC courses on introductory computer science and applied cryptography. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, an All-University Teaching Award, and was Program Co-Chair for the 31st and 32nd IEEE Symposia on Security and Privacy. He has S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from MIT and has been a faculty member at the University of Virginia since 1999.

Zachary Peterson is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He has a passion for creating new ways of engaging students of all ages in computer security, especially through the use of games and play. He has co-created numerous security games, including [d0x3d!], a network security board game, and is the co-founder of ASE, a new USENIX workshop dedicated to making advances in security education. He is the recent recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship which he will use to travel to University College, London, continuing some of his research in the use of digital and non-digital games for teaching computer security concepts to new, young, and non-technical audiences.

Colleen Lewis is a Professor of Computer Science at Harvey Mudd College who specializes in computer science education. Lewis has a Ph.D. in education and a M.S. and B.S. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research seeks to identify effective teaching practices for creating equitable learning spaces where all students have the opportunity to learn. Lewis curates CSTeachingTips.org, an NSF-sponsored project for disseminating effective computer science teaching practices.

Tadayoshi Kohno is the Short-Dooley Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, an Adjunct Associate Professor in the UW Electrical Engineering Department, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the UW Information School. His research focuses on helping protect the security, privacy, and safety of users of current and future generation technologies. Kohno is the recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and a Technology Review TR-35 Young Innovator Award. Kohno has presented his research to the U.S. House of Representatives, has had his research profiled in the NOVA ScienceNOW "Can Science Stop Crime?" documentary and the NOVA "CyberWar Threat" documentary, and is a past chair of the USENIX Security Symposium. Kohno is also an alumnus of the U.S. Government’s Defense Science Study Group and a member of the National Academies Forum on Cyber Resilience, the IEEE Center for Secure Design, and the USENIX Security Steering Committee. Kohno received his Ph.D. from the University of California at San Diego.