Secure e-Commerce: A Modular Course Supported by Virtual Laboratories

University Of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville VA

Investigators

Abstract

Computer Science (31) This project is building on the success of an existing software laboratory to support a computer science course on Electronic Commerce Technologies developed under a prior NSF award (DUE 0127300) to expand e-commerce education by developing and disseminating materials that focus on a key element of e-commerce technology: security. The goal of this project is disseminate materials from the previous project and to respond to one of the grand challenges in the field of computer science - writing secure software. The prior project was devoted to developing materials to be used in training students to program components of e-commerce stores. This project is developing, testing, and refining teaching materials that emphasize the security requirements of e-commerce software. The PIs are developing coordinated lecture materials and supporting software laboratory exercises ("virtual labs"), in the following critical areas: (1) Cryptography - the mathematics of security; (2) Professional ethics - a sense of responsibility should precede knowledge and empowerment; (3) Detecting and defending against attacks - the technology of hacking; (4) Wireless access - the enabler for mobile commerce; (5) Web services - a new approach to e-commerce security; (6) Authentication, authorization, and federation - the crucial web service components that facilitate identity management and trust sharing among disparate systems. This technical approach differs markedly from the business/legal approach taken in many extant e-commerce courses. Project emphasis areas include: - security and on secure coding philosophies, strategies, tools, and techniques; - collaboration between a computer scientist and philosopher (ethicist) leading to an emphasis on professional ethics; - use and evaluation of six types of interactive staff support: office hours, email, NetMeeting, IM, FAQs, and student-operated message boards; - a "teach-the-teachers" workshop for 20-25 faculty in the three summers, to include faculty from community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and science and engineering programs; - a well-designed effort to recruit women and minorities in every aspect of the proposed work; - an emphasis on "programming in context" in which students can see the practical application and social value of their artifacts; - providing staff to support faculty at other schools with their adoption, implementation, use, and evaluation of these materials; and - a multi-institution qualitative and quantitative evaluation of whether and how these materials changed learning outcomes for the students.