EE515/IS523: Security of Emerging Systems

Project Information

Introduction. This course requires a group or individual project. Each project should have some "research" aspect (attack, analysis, or measurement) — your aim should be to learn something we couldn't learn just from reading a few papers. For example, you can implement an attack on a small-scale system, or measure a security-relevant large-scale phenomenon that hasn't been measured before.
Group size. 1 to 5 members. You have to find your own group members.
Important dates
- Pre-proposal: 9/27/2026, 11:59 PM
- Full Proposal: 10/11/2026, 11:59 PM
- Midterm Report: 11/8/2026, 11:59 PM
- Final Report: 12/16/2026, 11:59 PM (NO EXTENSION!!)

Pre-proposal (0%, but required). One-page pre-proposal ("preproposal.pdf") describing Who (members + project name), What (the problem), Why (why it matters), How (relevant papers/tools), and work distribution. Feedback will be given, possibly suggesting a different direction.
Full Proposal. Up to three pages (10pt, two-column), incorporating the feedback: Who / What / Why (detailed motivation & related work) / How (approach, data, evaluation) / Management plan (who does what, with a realistic timetable and milestone) / work distribution.
Midterm Report. A tar-gzipped directory with any deliverables (e.g., source code) and at least a 6-page report ("report.pdf", 10pt, two-column), organized following the final-report guideline. Note what extra work you'll do if ahead, what difficulties you hit if behind, and what you'd drop if necessary, plus a per-member summary of work and hours.
Presentation. Each group gives an in-class presentation of their work. See the evaluation guideline below.
Final Report. A tar-gzipped directory with all deliverables and a 10–12 page report ("report.pdf", 10pt, two-column) in the style of a scientific paper: motivation, approach, results, contribution, related work, and conclusions. A separate "contrib.pdf" summarizes the hours spent and contributions of each member.

To get full credit, the project should contain new ideas (new attack, analysis, implementation, or measurement) that could be publishable in an academic conference (not necessarily top-tier).
A simple re-implementation without new analysis or comparison will not get full credit.
A simple summary of papers will not get full credit either.

(Delivery / Presentation adapted from Nick Hopper's guideline.)

Delivery — Mechanics of Communication (20%)

Presentation — Engagement (20%)

Well-organized; good time management (15 ± 1 min)
Actively drew the audience in (eye contact, vocal/facial variation, humor, questions)
Attentive to the audience's needs (anticipating misunderstandings, readability)

Content (40%)

Q&A Defense (20%)