CSEC640 - Week 4 Individual Assignment #1

Week 4 Overview



Complete the assigned readings as described in the syllabus. The assigned readings have
been supplemented with weekly course modules that are available in the Course Content
section.



Week 4- Articles of the Week(since TCP/IP security is a very important topic, this
weeks list is a bit long):

1.
1.

Stefan Savage et al., TCP congestion control with a misbehaving
receiver, ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review,
Vol.29, Issue 5, 1999.
2. Although the following paper is not in the syllabus, it is an
excellent resource for learning DNS and its security:
1.



Antonio Lioy et al., DNS Security, In TERENA
Conference, Lisbon, May 2000.
3. Michael Goodrich and Roberto Tamassia, Intro to Computer
Security, 2010: chapter 5.4, 5.5 and 6.1, pp 246-285.
4. Complete Module 4. The module presents the content for the
week in an interactive format to help you more effectively
interpret and apply the important concepts.




This weeks module covers the vulnerabilities of TCP/IP protocols as well as attacks
against these vulnerabilities



This weeks main task: start the individual assignment #1. You are given two
weeks to complete the assignment.



To search for the papers and documents listed in the reading list, use
Google Scholar via UMUC. Please read the instructions at the
following link: http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/googlescholar.cfm
Please Log into library services, and choose Google Scholar as the database.
Copy/Paste the title, etc. into search box. I have been able to obtain the articles
using this method

CSEC640 - Week 4 Individual Assignment #1
Description
The course module #4 covers very important concepts of how Denial of Service (DoS)
attacks work. However, the module does not discuss detection, prevention, or mitigation
of DoS attacks (or Distributed DoS). The task of this individual assignment is to write a
research paper/report.
Topic of the Paper:
Technique(s) or scheme(s) or method(s) for detecting, preventing or mitigating
DoS or Distributed DoS (DDoS) attacks.

Assignment Guidelines
The following must be considered when you write the report:
1. Select 3-4 research papers which discuss detection, prevention, or mitigation

techniques for DoS or DDoS attacks:

1.
a. The research papers must be published by a peer reviewed journal or be

published in conference proceedings (e.g., IEEE, ACM, IBM Systems
Journal, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), etc.).
b. You must not choose papers or research works from magazines or
periodicals that are not research-oriented (e.g., Wikipedia, SANS, etc.).

c. Briefly explain your rationale for selecting a specific research paper.
d. Allocate sufficient time to read the research papers. Reading a research

paper requires more time than most people realize.

2. Summarize each research paper and identify three different detection, mitigation,

or prevention techniques described in the papers you selected. For example:
you can have a) one detection + two prevention methods, OR b) one detection +
two mitigation methods, OR c) one detection + one prevention + one mitigation

1. Describe how each technique works. Clearly describe (in detail using your own

words), how each technique works. Assume that you are explaining the
authors technique to someone with a fairly strong fundamental knowledge
in network and security (e.g., a first year computer science graduate student)
and assume the student has no knowledge of the authors research (never
read the article before). Discuss each technique or method using the following
questions:

1.
a. Is the proposed technique a promising, practical approach which can be

effectively implemented into an existing platform? Clearly explain your
answer.
b. What are the strengths and weaknesses (limitations) of this technique?

2. Make sure there are No IPR(Intellectual Property Right) issues. This requires the

following:
a. Re-draw all figures and tables.
b. Summarize all concepts using your own words.
c. Do not copy any part of text or unmodified figures (short quotes are
acceptable.)
d. Cite references as needed using APA format.
3.
4. To support your claims or statements, you may cite/reference non-peer reviewed

papers and journals (including white papers, SANs documents, etc.; do not have
to be academic papers or articles, however, no Wikipedia or blogs).

Submission Guidelines




Print format: MS Word or PDF format.
The general structure of your research paper:
1. Name and Title
2. Brief Intro
3. Background (if needed)

4. Main Sections
5. Conclusion (if needed)
6. References





The paper length: 6-10 double space pages (good, solid content which is
factual, relevant, and concise).
Follow the APA format.
Turnitin.com requirement: Please see the Turnitin Conference posting for
Turnitin requirements and metrics.
Upload your report to your Assignment Folder

-------------Note: The student must check the file(s) right after submission to make sure the
right file(s) are submitted. No resubmission after the due date is allowed without
prior approval from the instructor. Only valid submission in the correct
assignment folder can be graded.
--------------

Grading Criteria CSEC640 IA #1
This assignment is worth 10 percent of your total grade.

Criteria
Excellent A (90+)

Satisfactory B (80-89)

Below Expectations
(below 80)

Content (80%)
All the selected research
All the research papers
papers are from scholarly
selected are from scholarly
3-4 Research papers
sources and directly related sources however are not
selected as per assignment to detection, prevention or directly related to detection,
guidelines item A.
mitigation techniques for
prevention or mitigation
DoS or DDoS attacks as per techniques for DoS or DDoS
assignment guideline. The attacks. Rationale for
(0-25 points)
rationale for selection is well selection is adequately
explained.
explained.
Clarity of discussion of the Each research paper is well Each research paper is
summary and
summarized, and the 3
adequately summarized and
identification of the 3
techniques are clearly
the 3 techniques adequately
techniques for each paper identified for each paper
identified for each paper

Not all the research papers
selected are from scholarly
sources and/or are not
directly related to detection,
prevention or mitigation
techniques for DoS or DDoS
attacks
Each research paper is poorly
summarized and/or the
techniques poorly identified
for each paper

as explained in assignment
guidelines item B
(0-25 points)

Clarity of discussion of the
way each technique works
as explained in
assignment guidelines
Each technique identified is Each technique identified is The techniques identified are
item C
clearly described as per
adequately described as per poorly described and do not
assignment guidelines
assignment guidelines
follow assignment guidelines
(0-25 points)

Quality of support
documentation (excluding
the 3-4 research papers) as
explained in assignment
The discussion in the paper The discussion in the paper is The literature review
guideline item E
is based on thorough review based on an adequate review presented in the paper is
of the literature.
of the literature.
inadequate.
(0-5 points)

Paper Format (20%)
Organization & length
(0-7points)

Writing style
(0-7points)

Use of proper APA
formatting
(0-6 points)

The content is well
organized with clear
transitions among major
subtopics. Meets length
requirements.

The content is generally well
organized with some
improvement possible in
transitioning among
subtopics. Meets length
requirements.

Graduate level writing is
reflected throughout the
paper, including accurate
spelling, punctuation,
grammar, and sentence
structure.

Writing does not meet
graduate standards.
Writing is acceptable, a few
Unacceptable number of
errors in spelling,
errors in spelling,
punctuation, grammar, and/or
punctuation, grammar,
sentence structure.
sentence structure, and/or
citation format.

In-text citations are
presented in proper APA
Minor errors in citation
format and all sources are
identification and/or APA
identified in the reference list
format.
and cited in proper APA
format.

The organization of the
content is confusing without
clear transitions among
subtopics. Does not meet
length requirements.

Unacceptable number of
errors in citation identification
and/or APA format.

CSEC640 Individual Assignment #1 - Grading and Feedback for
Student Name:_______________________

Criteria
Content (80%)
3-4 Research papers selected as per
assignment guidelines item A.
(0-25 points)

Clarity of discussion of the summary
and identification of the 3 techniques
for each paper as explained in
assignment guidelines item B
(0-25 points)

Clarity of discussion of the way each
technique works as explained in
assignment guidelines item C
(0-25 points)

Quality of support documentation
(excluding the 3-4 research papers)
as explained in assignment guideline
item E
(0-5 points)

Paper Format (20%)
Organization & length
(0-7points)

Writing style
(0-7points)

Use of proper APA formatting

Points

Comments

(0-6 points)

Total Points (0-100
points)

Overall Comments
Note: The Instructor shall post the completed scoring form (preferably PDF) for
each student as a feedback attachment in WebTycho Gradebook within 7 days
after the assignment due date.