Find out why crypto works and how it’s applied to protect your digital identity, how to develop secure systems (and maybe even prove that the implementation is correct), and how attackers try to break all of these.
We teach Information Security in the CS&BME Master’s degree programmes Computer Science (CS), Information and Computer Engineering (ICE) and Software Engineering and Management (SEM). To study Information Security at TU Graz, you choose it as a Major or Minor in one of these degree programmes. We welcome students from Graz and from abroad – there are attractive scholarships for incoming students. Find out more!
This page covers what you can learn in this degree programme and what’s new compared to the discontinued Wahlpflichtkatalog “IT Security”. New courses are marked as follows:
- This course is completely new
- This new course replaces a previous course (see Transition and Equivalences below)
Courses
Each of the degree programmes covers 120 ECTS, which includes courses in the Major, Minor, some optional subjects, and a master’s thesis (30 ECTS). For CS and SEM, the Major includes 10–15 ECTS in Seminars/Projects and 0–4 ECTS in “Science, Technology, and Society”. For SEM, Information Security can only be chosen as a Major and is combined with a Minor in Management. For ICE, the Seminar/Project of 10 ECTS can be added to either Major or Minor, and Information Security is combined with a Major or Minor that focuses on partly on Electrical Engineering. For full details, check the original curricula in TUGRAZonline (currently only in German).
Curriculum | Major Information Security | Minor Information Security |
---|---|---|
Computer Science (CS) | 60 ECTS | 24 ECTS |
Information and Computer Engineering (ICE) | 40+ ECTS (plus 10 SP) | 20+ ECTS (plus 10 SP) |
Software Engineering and Management (SEM) | 50+ ECTS |
The courses are grouped into 4 modules which reflect our core areas of research and will lead you from the foundations to cutting-edge research and impactful applications. One course per area is part of a compulsory module, while you can freely select the rest of your ECTS from all areas. About two thirds of the courses are offered by the Institute of Applied Information Processing and Communications (IAIK), marked below in full color, the other courses are contributed by other departments.
System Security
Security is not a simple property — it needs to be understood from a whole system’s perspective! Want to hack insecure software? Want to exploit the latest side channels, or Meltdown and Spectre? Are you ready for digging deep into the architecture and developing your own secure System-on-Chip?
This module offers a holistic view on system security, giving a deep insight into both software and hardware aspects. In the individual courses you will learn about vulnerability exploitation and secure software development, investigate modern cloud operating systems and compilers, tackle microarchitectural and physical side channels, and design secure hardware components and whole System-on-Chips.
Secure Software Development**
Software attacks/defenses and principles of secure programming
Winter, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Digital System Integration and Programming
Design of embedded systems with hardware and software components
Winter, ECTS: 5VU
Side-Channel Security
Understand, exploit, and mitigate side channels in software & hardware
Summer, ECTS: 5VU
Digital System Design
Develop real ASIC designs and learn how to optimize and test them
Summer, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Cloud Operating Systems
Build cloud operating systems and hypervisors as in modern clouds
Summer, ECTS: 5VU
Cryptographic Engineering
Implement cryptographic algorithms on different platforms
Winter, ECTS: 5VU
Compiler Construction
Offered by IST – Compiler lexing, parsing, and code generation
Summer, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
** The course “Secure Software Development” is part of the module “Information Security – Compulsory 1”, which is compulsory in both Major and Minor.
Cryptology & Privacy
Cryptography is the mathematical backbone of information security and provides the foundation of everything secure. This module covers the building blocks and design principles of modern cryptographic protocols. You’ll learn how ciphers protect data authenticity and confidentiality, how cryptanalytic attacks work, and how to ensure privacy by computing with encrypted data. You will acquire an in-depth understanding of modern cryptology and its mathematical foundations.
Also check out the course “Seminar Cryptology and Privacy – Mathematical Foundations of Cryptography” below. For those interested in the security perils of quantum computing, we recommend the lecture “Introduction to quantum computing“.
Cryptography**
Understand the building blocks of modern cryptographic protocols
Winter, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalytic attacks and how they guide cryptographic design
Summer, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Privacy Enhancing Technologies
Real-world protocols and privacy-enhancing technologies
Winter, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Modern Public Key Cryptography
Investigating provable security of cryptographic protocols
Summer, ECTS: 3VU
Problem Analysis and Complexity Theory
Offered by IST – Analysis of combinatorial & complexity-theory problems
Summer, ECTS: 4.5VU
Coding and Cryptography
Offered alternatingly by TU Graz and Uni Graz – Foundations of coding theory
Summer, ECTS: 4.5VO+1.5UE
** The course “Cryptography” is part of the module “Information Security – Compulsory 1”, which is compulsory in both Major and Minor. We recommend that you complete this course before the other courses in this module.
Formal Methods for Security
Formal methods are mathematical techniques and tools used to ensure that hardware and software systems work correctly and enable modeling, verifying, and synthesizing computer systems.
Since secure system design is urgently needed, rigorous formal methods gain more and more importance in the security setting. To gain substantial security improvements, a rigorous analysis of detailed models of secure systems is needed as provided by formal methods.
Indeed, formal methods are the only currently-known approaches able to provide strong end-to-end security guarantees: security guarantees throughout the execution of a system and across abstraction layers.
Verification and Testing*
Advanced methods to test and verify software and hardware
Winter, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Model Checking
Learn a formal technique for automatic verification based on models
Summer, ECTS: 3VO+2UE
Logic and Computability BSc
Learn to reason and to solve problems with logics
Summer, ECTS: 3VO+1.5KU
Model-based Testing
Offered by IST every 2 years – Model specification and automated testing strategies
Winter, ECTS: 5VU
Formal Specification and Design of Software
Offered by IST every 2 years
Winter, ECTS: 5VU
Discrete Stochastics and Information Theory
Offered by Institute of Discrete Mathematics
Summer, ECTS: 4.5VO+1UE
BSc The course “Logic and Computability” is recommended if not already completed as part of the bachelor’s degree programme.
* The course “Verification and Testing” is part of the module “Information Security – Compulsory 2”, which is compulsory in Major.
Secure Applications
To harden software against possible attacks, it is vital to design and implement them in a secure way. This module focuses on threats and security risks you commonly encounter during the lifecycle of desktop and mobile applications. You will learn how encryption and other measures can be integrated into real-world products in order to protect sensitive information. You will obtain a detailed view on practical aspects to deploy secure software.
Secure Application Design*
Protect application assets by correctly using crypto functions
Summer, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Mobile Security
Security of mobile platforms and common vulnerabilities in mobile apps
Summer, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Secure Product Lifecycle
Offered by SGS
Winter, ECTS: 3VO+2KU
Introduction to IT-LawEN
Offered by Uni Graz
Summer, ECTS: 3VO
Fault-Tolerant Distributed Algorithms
Offered by ITI
Winter, ECTS: 3VU
Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining 1
Offered by ISDS
Summer, ECTS: 3VO+1.5KU
EN The curriculum lists the discontinued German course “Einführung in das IT-Recht”; check with the dean’s office to ensure that the new English course is recognized.
* The course “Secure Application Design” is part of the module “Information Security – Compulsory 2”, which is compulsory in Major.
Projects and Seminars
In this module, you work on an individual research topic as part of a Seminar/Project to help you acquire research skills in a scientific environment. Moreover, advanced seminars will help you obtain an in-depth background knowledge in your favourite area and deepen your presentation skills. Both will prepare you for your master’s thesis.
In CS and SEM, you choose 10–15 ECTS from this module for the Major. In ICE, you may choose the Seminar/Project for either Major or Minor.
To complete the “Seminar/Project Information Security”, find and contact a supervisor at IAIK whose topics you find most interesting — there is no regular schedule for this course, you can start any time.
Seminar/Project Information Security
Choose a topic and work on your own research project
Any time, ECTS: 10SP
Seminar Cryptology and Privacy
Mathematical Foundations of Cryptography
Winter, ECTS: 3.5SE
Invisible color box for currently unused courses
Seminar Formal Methods
Winter, ECTS: 3.5SE
Master’s Thesis
For your master’s thesis (30 ECTS), you’ll work with our research teams to solve challenges arising in our security research – maybe your results will even lead to a new scientific publication! Contact a supervisor at IAIK to find a suitable topic and start your thesis – maybe browse a selection of our current topics or chat with us first to find out more and help you decide.
CURRICULUM TRANSITION AND EQUIVALENCES
You can study the new CS, ICE, and SEM degree programmes with Major/Minor Information Security starting from Winter Term 2020/21. If you previously studied the discontinued ICE master’s programme, you will be converted to the new one automatically. If you previously studied the discontinued CS or SEM master’s programme, you can either transition any time or continue completing your programme until 30 September 2023.
Many of the courses in the new curriculum are considered ✧ equivalent to old courses, which are no longer offered under their previous names. This equivalence list works both ways: if you previously completed some old courses on the righthand side and switched to the new curriculum, they will be converted to the new courses on the lefthand side. If you did not switch and need some old courses on the righthand side which are no longer offered, complete the corresponding course on the lefthand side.
Current | Discontinued |
---|---|
Cryptography VO | Applied Cryptography VO |
Cryptography KU | Applied Cryptography KU |
Cryptanalysis VO | Applied Cryptography 2 VO |
Cryptanalysis KU | Applied Cryptography 2 KU |
Privacy Enhancing Technologies VO | IT Security VO |
Privacy Enhancing Technologies KU | IT Security KU |
Seminar Cryptology and Privacy SE | Selected Topics IT Security 2 SE |
Secure Software Development VO | Security Aspects in Software Development VO |
Secure Software Development KU | Security Aspects in Software Development KU |
Digital System Integration and Programming VU | System-on-Chip Architectures and Modelling VU |
Side-Channel Security VU | Embedded Security VU |
Mobile Security VO | Advanced Computer Networks VO |
Mobile Security KU | Advanced Computer Networks KU |
Secure Application Design VO | Selected Topics IT Security 1 VO |
Secure Application Design KU | Selected Topics IT Security 1 KU |
Seminar/Project Information Security SP | Seminar/Project Information Processing SP |
Seminar/Project Information Security SP | IT Security Project PT |
Additionally, all courses of the previous Wahlfachkatalog “IT Security” in the discontinued CS curriculum as well as “Secure and Correct Systems” in the discontinued ICE and SEM curricula can also be counted towards the new CS module group “Information Security”.
Current | Discontinued |
---|---|
– | Mathematical Foundations of Cryptography VO |
– | Mathematical Foundations of Cryptography UE |
– | Mobile and Nomadic Computing SE |
– | Wireless Communication Networks and Protocols VO |
– | Selected Topics Design and Verification VO |
– | Selected Topics Design and Verification UE |
– | IT Security, Seminar SE |
If you have questions on the curriculum transition process, contact the course’s lecturer, the IAIK office, your student representative, or your Dean of Studies.