CSC 6250 - Malware Analysis and Defense

4 Credit Hours
Prerequisites: CSC 2720 (Data Structures) and CSC 3320 (System Level Programming).
Description
This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of malware analysis and defense techniques. Using hands-on-experience students will attain an understanding of identifying the functionalities and behaviors of malicious software. Students will use a disassembler to decompose, execute, and trace each line of a program. They will also learn how to patch the executable file and modify its behavior for a more secure outcome. Students will also have the chance to examine the effects of different types of malicious software that run either natively on a Windows or a Linux platforms. Students will learn how to defend a system by tracing back the infection and identifying the vulnerability used to exploit and implant the malicious software within the system.