HKS shield.

Simson Garfinkel

Appointment
Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy

IGA-236

Cybersecurity is now a primary concern of governments, NGOs, corporations and ordinary citizens. Criminals wielding ransomware have shut down pipelines, airports and hospitals. Governments have hacked cellphones of journalists and protesters. Academics have shown how to wirelessly take over a car and force it off the road. And dozens of organizations are collecting your personal data. Cybersecurity is complex, touching upon personal freedom, public safety, corporate behavior, international relations, and war. This course explores that interplay. Designed for those who have no background in computer science, this course divides cybersecurity into three sections: data, code and computation. For data, this course covers the basics of data protection (through encryption, digital signatures and privacy regulations) and data attacks (including surveillance, doxing, and deep fakes). For code, we explore what software actually is, how programs are specified and certified, and unexpected behavior (including bugs, backdoors and malware). Finally, we’ll explore the world of computation (including the cloud, computing on the edge with Internet of Things, and AI). Cybersecurity is international, and this course will study cases from the US, Europe, China and Latin America. Students will help us achieve global reach by analyzing, discussing and presenting these complex topics in a variety of formats, including posters, presentations and short videos.