Instructor: Susan LandauLinks to an external site., Bridge Professor in Cyber Security and Policy, The Fletcher School and School of Engineering.

Two Important Announcements:

This course is offered as a Fletcher course. This means that the schedule will follow the Fletcher calendar, not the AS&E calendar. The first day of class is Tuesday January 18, and there will be no classes on February 22 (Fletcher "Monday") and March 22 (spring break).
There will be an optional class of 1-1.5 hours on Saturday January 22, time TBD, on how the Internet works; those who taken or are currently taking networking courses, Cyber for Future Policymakers, or How Systems Work can comfortably skip this optional class. Those who do not know how the Internet works will find the class useful, but this extra class is not required.

Course Description:

As a domain and instrument of competition and conflict, cyber space enables a range of global actors—including dissidents, terrorist organizations, and states with varying levels of offensive and defensive cyber capabilities—to assert influence, project power, and conduct activities in the increasingly ambiguous areas between war and peace. This course will explore the role of cyberspace in international conflict, including through the use of espionage, disinformation campaigns, and attacks; the course will examine the policies, strategies, and governance structures of key actors that operate within the cyber domain. We will also study why the development of international norms in cyberspace has proved so elusive.

Course Goal: To understand the dynamics and complexities of international cyber conflict.

Learning Objectives:

Students will develop:

knowledge of the history of international cyber conflict—exploits and attacks—that have occurred over since the 1980s;
an ability to interpret the most important cases of cyber conflict;
an understanding the shift in the types of cyber conflict, from espionage to attacks and disinformation;
an understanding of the intent of attacks; and
an understanding of the causes of failure to agree on international norms for operation in cyberspace.

Course Prerequisites: There are no course prerequisites for Fletcher students. AS&E students who wish to enroll require permission of the instructor. Please write susan.landau@tufts.edu a brief email describing your background in computer science, political science, and/or international relations as well as why you are interested in the course.

Syllabus:

The syllabus can be found here.

Class: Class will be held in person in Cabot 205; the first class(es) will be on Zoom. Students who are registered for the course should have received mail with the Zoom room.

Office Hours: Office hours will be via Zoom Mondays 1:40-3 and Thursdays 4:15-5:15. Sign up here.

University and Class Policies

Appreciating and Respecting Diverse Viewpoints

You come to this class with different backgrounds and experiences. Such different perspectives are always great to have; they will be particularly valuable in a course that looks at policy issues undergoing dynamic change. Your different perspectives will provide valuable contributions, and I look forward to having your participation.

At Tufts, we treat everyone with respect and dignity, and I expect the same in this course. Please let me know if you feel that principle has been violated. Please note the Computer Science Department's statement on diversity Links to an external site., which I and the other members of the teaching staff strongly support.

Academic Honesty

Fletcher students: You should be familiar with the Fletcher Academic IntegrityLinks to an external site. policy.

AS&E students: You should be familiar with the Academic IntegrityLinks to an external site. policy for Graduate and Undergraduate Students, available on the Dean of Student Affairs website.

We take academic integrity seriously. Academic dishonesty includes the following: buying papers; borrowing papers; lending papers (or parts of papers) to other students; submitting the same assignment for two different classes without the express permission of both instructors; plagiarism, defined as quoting material from other sources without using quotation marks or paraphrasing materials without proper citation; and uploading corrupted files to Canvas.

Laptops, Cell Phones, and All That

You learn better when you take notes by hand (see, e.g., this (Links to an external site.)). That's the primary reason for no laptops or phones in class (in your pack or pocket, sure, as long as the phone is shut off). The secondary reason is that laptops, cell phones, and all that are immensely distracting, not only to you, but to your neighbors. So no open laptops or cell phones in class. Your brain will enjoy the break from email, Twitter, FB, Snapchat, ... , and so will your concentration. Though this paragraph is written gently, it is a command: no open electronic gadgets in the class—with the exception of those who have special dispensation from me.

Students with Disabilities

Tufts University values the diversity of our students, staff, and faculty; recognizing the important contribution each student makes to our unique community. Tufts is committed to providing equal access and support to all qualified students through the provision of reasonable accommodations so that each student may fully participate in their educational experience. If you believe you require accommodation, please email accessiblity@tufts.edu or, in the case of Fletcher students, staarcenter@tufts.edu or 617-627-4539 to make an appointment to determine appropriate accommodations. Please be aware that accommodations cannot be enacted retroactively, making timeliness a critical aspect for their provision.

Late Papers

No late papers with three exceptions:

Bereavement (e.g., the death of a parent, a step-parent, a sibling, or another close relative);
A life-threatening illness in your immediate family; or
A serious illness or medical emergency that requires you to receive immediate medical attention.

In the case of bereavement or a family emergency, an AS&E student must ask his or her Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education (“alpha dean”) in Dowling Hall to send us notification. In the case of a serious illness or medical emergency, the student is required to provide medical documentation from Health Service or other medical provider information if the student is too ill to take an in-class mid-term or in-class final examination.

Please remember that any student in such unfortunate circumstances is still responsible for obtaining documentation from your respective dean and/or Health Services in a timely fashion. A timely fashion means within a day or two, not three or four weeks.

Class in a Time of Covid

Nothing is easy. I will be teaching masked, you will be in class masked. Hanging out together, having informal discussions, spending time in my office are all much harder—or impossible. (Under current circumstances, I'm doing office hours by Zoom or later in the semester, when the weather is good, some office hours outdoors.) I want to teach you, but there are also many lessons to learn. Most important of these is looking out for each other and kindness to one another. This is always important; these times point how much so.

Some of you will likely become ill with Covid this term. You'll need to quarantine and you'll miss class. The most important thing to do if this happens is to take care of yourself and get medical help if needed. As for schoolwork, each of you right now should find two students with whom you'll share notes in case that happens (and don't just form clusters of groups of three, since if all three of you become ill ...). I will, of course, allow delayed assignments when if are ill.