ITIS 3200: Introduction to Information Security and Privacy

Prof. Jian Xiang
Fall 2026

Lectures: M,W 10:00-11:15am
Location: Mebane Hall, Room 065

Announcements

Assignments, quizzes, and grades are distributed and submitted through Canvas.
AI use policy: you must disclose how you used AI in your submissions, and you may not copy/paste AI output as your answer. See the course policies for details.

Syllabus: Course Information | Grading | Textbook | Schedule | Policies

Course information

This course is an introduction to fundamental concepts of security. Common topics include: security concepts and mechanisms; security technologies; mandatory and discretionary controls; basic cryptography and its applications; web security; network security; and system security. The course includes programming assignments and projects through which students learn how to use and implement security mechanisms.

Credit hours: 3

See the lecture schedule for more detailed information on topics covered.

Course staff

Instructor: Jian Xiang
- Office Hours: Fridays 1:00-2:30pm, Woodward Hall 330D, or by appointment
Teaching Assistants:
- Tahmid Chowdhury (tchowdh4@charlotte.edu)
  - Office Hours: Tuesdays 10-11am and Fridays 9-10am; Woodward 309 (check the calendar before you go)
- Utkarsh Parashar (uparash1@charlotte.edu)
  - Office Hours: TBD; Woodward 309 and online (check the calendar before you go)
- Ashim Samal (asamal2@charlotte.edu)
  - Office Hours: Thursdays 2:00-3:00pm; Woodward 309 (check the calendar before you go)

See below for a calendar of Office Hours. Office hours may change due to unexpected conflicts, so double check the calendar to be certain of the location and time before you go to office hours.

All questions and issues related to assignments, course content, etc., should be sent to the course staff. Questions related to grades, special consideration, etc. can be sent directly to Prof. Xiang. Note that course staff may take up to 48 hours to respond.

Time and place

There are two 75-minute lectures per week: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:00am -11:15am, in Mebane Hall, Room 065.

Homework, exams, and grading

There will be an in-class open-book midterm and final exam (no AI tools and no internet access; a lockdown browser is required). Homework is assigned approximately weekly, along with in-class quizzes and a group course project. Your grade is determined by a weighted average of the components below. (The percentage breakdown is subject to change with reasonable notice.)

Homework (35%): assigned approximately weekly via Canvas. Each assignment has two parts: hands-on exercises and scenario-based analysis questions.
Midterm exam (20%): in class; Mon, Sep 28; 10:00-11:15am. Covers the cryptography lectures.
Final exam (25%): in class; Wed, Dec 9; 8:00-10:30am (University final-exam schedule).
Course project (10%): group project (maximum four students). Includes design, implementation, and evaluation, with a proposal, a final report, code on GitHub, and a 10-minute presentation.
In-class quizzes (10%): short quizzes at the start of most lectures (4-5 single- or multiple-choice questions on the previous lecture). No late submissions; the lowest two scores are dropped.
Engagement and interaction (extra credit, capped at 3%): meaningful academic engagement such as in-class Q&A and attending office hours.

Grading scale: A: 90-100, B: 80-89, C: 70-79, D: 60-69, F: below 60.

Textbooks

No textbook is required, but if you would like additional references, we recommend:

Security Engineering by Ross Anderson
Cryptography Engineering by Ferguson, Schneier, and Kohno
Introduction to Computer Security by Matt Bishop
Computer Security: Principles and Practice by William Stallings
Computer Security: Art and Science by Matt Bishop
Security in Computing by Charles P. Pfleeger
Introduction to Computer Security by Michael Goodrich and Roberto Tamassia
Computer Security, a freely available course textbook from UC Berkeley.

See the Resources page for additional material that you can examine.

Schedule

Lecture schedule

See here for a detailed schedule of lectures.

Check University Academic Calendar for other important dates and deadlines.

Office hours

Office hours will start in the second week of classes.

We will use this Google calendar for office hour times:

Course Policies

See the Course Policies page for more information about course policies, including Diversity and Inclusion, Inclusive Learning and Accessibility, Mental Health, Late and Extension policy, and Collaboration and Academic Integrity.

Syllabus Revisions

The instructor may modify standards and requirements set forth in this syllabus at any time. Notice of such changes will be by announcement to the class.