Cybersecurity Camp

Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing fields of computer science. Cyber threats, cyber warfare, state-sponsored hacking, phishing and ransomware are mentioned in mainstream media virtually every day and potentially threaten our personal, corporate and national security and way of life.

During this course, students will cycle among "white hat" and "black hat" hacking roles in order to understand both perspectives: those that defend against attacks, and those that perform attacks. Students will practice initiating and defending against a variety of common attacks: denial of service, phishing, password cracking, man-in-the-middle interception, and penetration testing and exploitation. Various fundamental programming techniques such as conditionals, loops, functions, arrays and network programming will be taught in the Python language in order to develop automated attacks and defense strategies.

Our scholarship application deadline has now passed. 

 

About the Instructor

Joshua Eckroth, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Stetson University. Eckroth earned his PhD at Ohio State University in computer science with an emphasis in artificial intelligence. His research interests lie in machine learning, cybersecurity and computer science pedagogy.

Accommodations

This is an overnight camp. Stetson University does not provide linens, towels or toiletries. Please remember to bring the following and anything else that will make your stay even more enjoyable.

• Pillow(s)
• Sheets (Twin XL) – You can bring a sleeping bag if you would like
• Blanket
• Towels
• Washcloth
• Toiletries (Soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant)
• Shower shoes (if you desire)
• Medications
• Glasses/contacts, solutions, and a case for contacts
• Linens are able to be rented at an additional cost.

Camp Schedule

Day 1: July 11

• 9-12: setup (accessing campus server), discussion of recent cybersecurity news, an overview of cybersecurity
• 1-4: writing simple python programs, intro python concepts

Day 2: July 12

• 9-12: how ethernet and the internet work, a demo of man-in-the-middle attacks, writing python code that talks to the internet (message app)
• 1-4: how domain names work, writing python code for our own DNS server; how DNS hijacking works

Day 3: July 13

• 9-12: an overview of cryptography, how to crack passwords, competition for password cracking
• 1-4: writing python code for a password manager

Day 4: July 14

• 9-12: an overview of SSL/HTTPS/PGP, updating the messaging app so it is encrypted
• 1-4: port scanning (including python code to do it), using Metasploit to build attacks

Day 5: July 15

• 9-12: how websites (HTTP) and cookies work, building a python-based web app with login, cross-origin attacks, phishing attacks
• 1-4: how Tor and the "dark web" work, update web app to run on the dark web