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Tel Aviv University

Unlocking Information Security I: From Cryptography to Buffer Overflows

Tel Aviv University and Campus - the Israeli National Project for Digital Learning via edX

Overview

Information Security is everywhere: as the world becomes more and more digitized, so it becomes more and more hackable. Cyber attacks, data breaches, and even cyber warfare are all very real - so it is infinitely important to understand how hackers think and act, and how you can fight back.

In this course, which is the first part of the Unlocking Information Security program, you will learn the basic terminology and concepts in the field of information security. You will explore different types of vulnerabilities through famous examples of design flaws, implementation bugs and social engineering.

You will then move on to discover the art of cryptography, from ancient times to the modern era, and learn about famous ciphers, how they can be cracked, and what can be done to thwart such attacks. Next, you will learn about an important aspect of cryptography that involves no secrets at all: hash functions. You will understand what they are, how they can be used, and how they can be attacked.

You will then combine everything you've learned and take a critical view of different authentication schemes: passwords, challenge-response systems and biometrics. Finally, you will learn about the most critical vulnerability of all times - Buffer Overflow.

This course was produced at Tel Aviv University by TAU Online - learning innovation center.

Taught by

Avishai Wool and Dan Gittik

Reviews

4.8 rating, based on 333 Class Central reviews

Start your review of Unlocking Information Security I: From Cryptography to Buffer Overflows

  • Anonymous
    This course is amazing! First of all - the content is great, clear and profound, making complicated issues accessible and understandable. Furthermore, the lecturers are great, they are real experts and yet they seem approachable. The effort and thought that were put into this course really make it stand out, the explanations, the animations, I took many online courses before and none of them was as good as this one.
  • Anonymous
    The moment the thought of cyber security came to my mind it was Israel that occupied my mind.Consequently I decided to take this course by TAU at EdX.The lucid explanation and effective teaching style of both the educators are worth mentioning.I was deeply impressed by the manner of teaching.Hope the journey continues.
  • Profile image for Tomgi859
    Tomgi859
    4
    One of the mose awesome, friendly, understandable, and definitely the one with the most efforts invested in I've even ran into in my life! Super-friendly course, which require familarity with Python, which I had not a all in the beginning, but with…
  • Profile image for Raphael Freitas
    Raphael Freitas
    4
    This couse changed my life. I took it and, with enormous difficult, I saw that I needed to learn programming. So I took a set of courses about programming and I came back to take the part two. The two professors, Avishai Wool and Dan Gittik, are incredible, fantastic, I have no words to describe them... but in Portuguese I have: Eles são excepcionais, extraordinariamente competentes! All the texts, the explanations, the images, animated gifs, the didatics, the manner of conducting our thoughts to understand the subjects! I just have to thank you for the opportunity to learn from this course. Course not, masterpiece!
  • Anonymous
    This is a great course , it teaches step by step and does not assume prior knowledge, It is very easy to follow and the material is engaging and interesting.
  • Anonymous
    Truly professional course - Haxcersises and the huge list of related materials make it even more professional!
  • Anonymous
    It was an excellent course. The professors used good infographics to explain things, and I found it easy to follow and understand the text in that way. It also helped me to better understand the text when I reviewed the lesson.
    Thank you!
  • Anonymous
    Thank you Prof. Avishai Wool and Dan Gitik for an AWESOME course!
    Information Security just got a whole lot cooler than it already was.
    Loving the examples and graphics (still trying to decide if I'm "Team Eve" or "Team Malory"...)
  • Anonymous
    This is a great course for beginners who don't yet know how to program in C. However, it is helpful to have some prior knowledge of C in order to complete the Hack exercises and pass the final exam.
  • Anonymous
    Can I buffer overflow this review? This is a nice course. First, there's no such a complete course of hacking and defending on the internet, all I saw was just "go to CTF!, Do more quiz!" But this one told us step by step, with small tests that were a little harder than the class, motivating us to think and understand it. Second, the presenter, no matter the "young" and "old" one's humorous speech telling skills (and also gifs) are wonderful! Last but not least, the "Hackxercise", all I can say is just go and experience in person.

    Thanks to all of the Staff, from the planner to those who made awesome animation.
  • Anonymous
    Great course, and a very interesting topic. The videos are short, concise and clear. The quizzes and hands-on practice helps to better grasp the info & details.
  • Anonymous
    The course makes it simple to understand the theory and practice of information technologies.
    I am interested in working in the cyber security world and this course really help me take my forst steps towards that.
  • Anonymous
    Great course with a few flaws, like question 4 of the final exam.
    But nothing is ever perfect, which I take as the key takeaway from the course.
  • Anonymous
    This course really makes you think about your computer safety , what to look for / after
    what you can do about it
  • Great mix of concepts, illustrations, and practices, including relevant and useful quizzes and programming assignments! The informal and humorous approach makes the course very engaging and motivating! I highly recommend it!
  • Anonymous
    great course, conveys the material in a great way and is easy to learn even for people who have not been exposed to the field before.
  • Anonymous
    Well explained, great lecturers. I wish they'll do more courses like that one.
    It's a wonderful way to get and learn the complexity in the cyber world.
  • Anonymous
    talks in general about a lot of internet security issues for a user includes some coding in python to get a feeling of the encryption and its vulnerabilities
  • Anonymous
    I highly recommend this course! The explanations are clear, and the examples provided are both relevant and easy to understand. The instructor does an excellent job of breaking down complex concepts into manageable parts. The practical exercises reinforce learning effectively. Overall, this course is well-structured, engaging, and truly enhances understanding. Perfect for beginners and those looking to deepen their knowledge!

  • Anonymous
    Wow brilliant technology you bring us actually attacking And defending systems in the real world not just theoretical stuff
    Thank you very much
    Yehuda m

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