CS 6263 / ECE 8813/Fall 2026
Cyber-Physical Systems Security
Security primitives for the systems that run physical infrastructure — taught through industrial control systems.
- MP1Mini Project 1opens Wednesday, August 26, 2026 EST, due Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 11:59 PM EST.
- MP2Mini Project 2opens Wednesday, September 9, 2026 EST, due Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 11:59 PM EST.
- MP3Mini Project 3opens Wednesday, September 30, 2026 EST, due Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 11:59 PM EST.
- MidtermMidterm Examopens Friday, October 2, 2026, 6:00 PM EST, due Monday, October 5, 2026, 11:59 PM EST.
- MP4Mini Project 4opens Wednesday, October 21, 2026 EST, due Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 11:59 PM EST.
- PresentationPaper Presentation*Tentative window, November 4 – November 20. Tentative — exact deadline TBA. See the Canvas announcement for sign-up and details.
- FinalFinal Examopens Friday, November 20, 2026, 6:00 PM EST, due Monday, November 23, 2026, 11:59 PM EST.
August 24 – November 23, 2026 · 13 weeks · every time on this page is EST, year-round
* Tentative — exact deadline TBA. See the Canvas announcement for sign-up and details.
- When
- Up to you!
- Where
- All over the world!
- Graded on
- 4 mini projects, 2 exams, 1 paper presentation
- Deadlines
- 11:59 PM EST
01
Deadlines
Every graded item, in the order it opens — except the paper presentation, which has no fixed date and is listed where it tentatively falls. Times are EST year-round — they do not shift with daylight saving, so a deadline is at the same moment for everyone, all term.
| Deliverable | Weight | Opens | Due | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini Project 1Design and simulation of industrial and control systems | 15% | Wed, Aug 26, 2026 | Wed, Sep 9, 202611:59 PM EST | |
| Mini Project 2PLC programming with ladder logic | 15% | Wed, Sep 9, 2026 | Wed, Sep 23, 202611:59 PM EST | |
| Mini Project 3Real-world ICS reconnaissance and attacks | 15% | Wed, Sep 30, 2026 | Tue, Oct 20, 202611:59 PM EST | |
| Midterm ExamExamYou will have a 50-minute window to take the test. | 15% | Fri, Oct 2, 2026 | Mon, Oct 5, 202611:59 PM EST | |
| Mini Project 4Secure system analysis using machine learning | 15% | Wed, Oct 21, 2026 | Wed, Nov 4, 202611:59 PM EST | |
| Paper PresentationPresentationA recorded presentation plus questions on classmates' presentations | 10% | Tentative — exact deadline TBA. See the Canvas announcement for sign-up and details. | Tentative | |
| Final ExamExamYou will have a 50-minute window to take the test. | 15% | Fri, Nov 20, 2026 | Mon, Nov 23, 202611:59 PM EST | |
Mini Project 1
Design and simulation of industrial and control systems
- Weight
- 15%
- Opens
- Wed, Aug 26, 2026
- Due
- Wed, Sep 9, 202611:59 PM EST
Mini Project 2
PLC programming with ladder logic
- Weight
- 15%
- Opens
- Wed, Sep 9, 2026
- Due
- Wed, Sep 23, 202611:59 PM EST
Mini Project 3
Real-world ICS reconnaissance and attacks
- Weight
- 15%
- Opens
- Wed, Sep 30, 2026
- Due
- Tue, Oct 20, 202611:59 PM EST
Midterm Exam
ExamYou will have a 50-minute window to take the test.
- Weight
- 15%
- Opens
- Fri, Oct 2, 2026
- Due
- Mon, Oct 5, 202611:59 PM EST
Mini Project 4
Secure system analysis using machine learning
- Weight
- 15%
- Opens
- Wed, Oct 21, 2026
- Due
- Wed, Nov 4, 202611:59 PM EST
Paper Presentation
PresentationTentativeA recorded presentation plus questions on classmates' presentations
- Weight
- 10%
- Due
- Tentative — exact deadline TBA. See the Canvas announcement for sign-up and details.
Final Exam
ExamYou will have a 50-minute window to take the test.
- Weight
- 15%
- Opens
- Fri, Nov 20, 2026
- Due
- Mon, Nov 23, 202611:59 PM EST
02
Schedule
Lectures and readings for each of the 13 weeks, with the deliverables that open or close inside them. Weeks run Monday to Sunday. This plan is tentative — topics may shift as the course runs, but the deadlines above will not move without an announcement.
01Week 1: Aug 24 – 30
L1 — Introduction to Cyber-Physical Systems · L2 — Overview of CPSMP1 opens
This week
- Mini Project 1opens Wednesday, August 26, 2026 EST
Lectures
- L1 — Introduction to Cyber-Physical Systems
- L2 — Overview of CPS
Recommended reading
- Olkan Gunes, Steffen Peter, Tony Givargis, and Frank Vahid. A Survey on Concepts, Applications, and Challenges in Cyber-Physical Systems (opens in a new tab). KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems, vol. 8, num. 12, pp. 4242-4268, 2014.
- Alvaro Cardenas, Saurabh Amin, Bruno Sinopoli, Annarita Giani, Adrian Perrig, Shankar Sastry. Challenges for Securing Cyber Physical Systems (opens in a new tab). Workshop on Future Directions in Cyber-physical Systems Security, DHS, July 23, 2009.
02Week 2: Aug 31 – Sep 6
L3a — Background: Networking · L3b — Background: Information Security · L3c — Background: Control Systems
Lectures
- L3a — Background: Networking
- L3b — Background: Information Security
- L3c — Background: Control Systems
Reading
None assigned this week.
03Week 3: Sep 7 – 13
L4 — Industrial Networks · L5 — Industrial Cyber Security History and ThreatsMP1 dueMP2 opens
This week
- Mini Project 1due Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
- Mini Project 2opens Wednesday, September 9, 2026 EST
Lectures
- L4 — Industrial Networks
- L5 — Industrial Cyber Security History and Threats
Required reading
- Knapp and Langill, chapters 1, 2 and 3
04Week 4: Sep 14 – 20
L6 — Introduction to Industrial Control Systems and Operations
Lecture
- L6 — Introduction to Industrial Control Systems and Operations
Required reading
- Knapp and Langill, chapter 4
05Week 5: Sep 21 – 27
L7 — Ladder Logic DemoMP2 due
This week
- Mini Project 2due Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
Lecture
- L7 — Ladder Logic Demo
Recommended reading
- Ladder logic tutorials on the web
06Week 6: Sep 28 – Oct 4
L8 — Industrial Network Design and ArchitectureMP3 opensMidterm opens
This week
- Mini Project 3opens Wednesday, September 30, 2026 EST
- Midterm Examopens Friday, October 2, 2026, 6:00 PM EST
Lecture
- L8 — Industrial Network Design and Architecture
Required reading
- Knapp and Langill, chapter 5
07Week 7: Oct 5 – 11
L9 — Industrial Network ProtocolsMidterm due
This week
- Midterm Examdue Monday, October 5, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
Lecture
- L9 — Industrial Network Protocols
Required reading
- Knapp and Langill, chapter 6
Recommended reading
- Aurabind Pal and Roma Dash. A Paradigm Shift in Substation Engineering: IEC 61850 Approach (opens in a new tab). Procedia Technology, Volume 21, 2015, Pages 8-14.
08Week 8: Oct 12 – 18
L10 — Power Delivery Systems (an example industrial control system)
Lecture
- L10 — Power Delivery Systems (an example industrial control system)
Required reading
- Knapp and Samani, chapters 1 and 2
09Week 9: Oct 19 – 25
L11 — Hacking Industrial Control SystemsMP3 dueMP4 opens
This week
- Mini Project 3due Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
- Mini Project 4opens Wednesday, October 21, 2026 EST
Lecture
- L11 — Hacking Industrial Control Systems
Required reading
- Knapp and Langill, chapter 7
- A. Selcuk Uluagac, Venkatachalam Subramanian, and Raheem Beyah. Sensory Channel Threats to Cyber Physical Systems: A Wake-up Call (opens in a new tab). IEEE Conference on Communications and Network Security (CNS), October 2014.
- Stuxnet, video 1 (opens in a new tab)
- Stuxnet, video 2 (opens in a new tab)
10Week 10: Oct 26 – Nov 1
L11 — Hacking Industrial Control Systems (continued)
Lecture
- L11 — Hacking Industrial Control Systems (continued)
Required reading
- Knapp and Samani, chapter 3
- Robert M. Lee, Michael J. Assante, and Tim Conway (working with E-ISAC). Analysis of the Cyber Attack on the Ukrainian Power Grid (opens in a new tab). SANS and Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center, March 2016.
- Ukraine power grid attack, video (opens in a new tab)
- TRITON, video (opens in a new tab)
- TRITON: Schneider Electric analysis and disclosure, video (opens in a new tab)
11Week 11: Nov 2 – 8
L12 — Securing Industrial Control SystemsMP4 due
This week
- Mini Project 4due Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
Lecture
- L12 — Securing Industrial Control Systems
Required reading
- Knapp and Langill, chapters 6 and 9
- Chuck McParland, Sean Peisert, and Anna Scaglione. Monitoring Security of Networked Control Systems: It's the Physics (opens in a new tab). IEEE Security & Privacy, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 32-39, Nov.-Dec. 2014.
- David Formby, Preethi Srinivasan, Andrew Leonard, Jonathan Rogers, and Raheem Beyah. Who's in Control of Your Control System? Device Fingerprinting for Cyber-Physical Systems (opens in a new tab). In Proceedings of the Network and Distributed System Security (NDSS) Symposium, February 2016.
- Samuel Litchfield, David Formby, Jonathan Rogers, Sakis Meliopoulos, and Raheem Beyah. Rethinking the Honeypot for Cyber-Physical Systems (opens in a new tab). IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 9-17, Sept.-Oct. 2016.
Recommended reading
- Specification-based intrusion detection
12Week 12: Nov 9 – 15
L13 — Privacy in Cyber-Physical Systems
Lecture
- L13 — Privacy in Cyber-Physical Systems
Required reading
- Knapp and Samani, chapter 4
- Mikhail A. Lisovich, Deirdre K. Mulligan, and Stephen B. Wicker. Inferring Personal Information from Demand-Response Systems (opens in a new tab). IEEE Security and Privacy, Vol. 8(1), pp. 11-20, January 2010.
Recommended reading
- Ann Cavoukian, Jules Polonetsky, and Christopher Wolf. Smart Privacy for the Smart Grid: Embedding Privacy Into the Design of Electricity Conservation (opens in a new tab). Identity in the Information Society, vol. 3, pp. 275-294, 2010.
- Jairo Giraldo, Alvaro Cardenas, Eduardo Mojica-Nava, Nicanor Quijano, Roy Dong. Delay and Sampling Independence of a Consensus Algorithm and its Application to Smart Grid Privacy (opens in a new tab). Proceedings of the 53rd Conference on Decision and Control, 2014.
- Xiaojing Liao, Preethi Srinivasan, David Formby, and Raheem A. Beyah. Di-PriDA: Differentially Private Distributed Load Balancing Control for the Smart Grid (opens in a new tab). IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 1026-1039, Nov.-Dec. 2019.
13Week 13: Nov 16 – 22
L14 — Threats to Cyber-Physical Systems in Other DomainsFinal opensFinal due
This week
- Final Examopens Friday, November 20, 2026, 6:00 PM EST
- Final Examdue Monday, November 23, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
Lecture
- L14 — Threats to Cyber-Physical Systems in Other Domains
Required reading
- Jianhao Liu, Chen Yan, and Wenyuan Xu. Can You Trust Autonomous Vehicles: Contactless Attacks against Sensors of Self-driving Vehicle (opens in a new tab). DEF CON 24, 2016.
- Daniel Halperin, Thomas S. Heydt-Benjamin, Benjamin Ransford, Shane S. Clark, Benessa Defend, Will Morgan, Kevin Fu, Tadayoshi Kohno, and William H. Maisel. Pacemakers and Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators: Software Radio Attacks and Zero-Power Defenses (opens in a new tab). IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (Oakland), 2008.
03
Grading
How the final grade is put together, and the letter it maps to.
- Mini projects60%
- Exams30%
- Paper presentation10%
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Paper Presentation | 10% |
| Mini Project 1 | 15% |
| Mini Project 2 | 15% |
| Mini Project 3 | 15% |
| Mini Project 4 | 15% |
| Midterm Exam | 15% |
| Final Exam | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
Grade scale
Final percentages map to letter grades as follows.
- A90–100%
- B80–89%
- C70–79%
- D60–69%
- FBelow 60%
04
Policies
The rules you are held to in this course. Three of them carry a penalty and are marked; read those in full.
- Responsibility for Material
- You are responsible for all material covered in class, including lectures, readings, and assignments. Regular attendance and active participation are expected.
- Paper Presentation
- You will select a research paper, present it in a YouTube video, and post it on Ed Discussion. Full credit requires creating your presentation, asking at least three questions about classmates' presentations, and submitting the relevant materials by the end of the semester.
- Exams, Makeup Exams, and IncompletesPenalty applies
- All exams are closed book. For the midterm, you may bring one handwritten, single-sided 8.5 × 11 note sheet (the back must be blank). For the final exam, you may bring either two single-sided sheets or one double-sided sheet of the same size, handwritten. Not following these rules will result in a zero on the exam. Makeup exams are at the professor's discretion and require a written request at least one week in advance, except for medical emergencies. Incomplete grades are given only in exceptional cases.
- Academic IntegrityPenalty applies
- Collaboration is encouraged for learning, but all coursework must be completed individually unless otherwise specified. You are expected to follow the Georgia Tech Honor Code and to treat classmates and the instructor with respect, ensuring no one gains unfair advantage. Suspected academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students. Posting course materials, projects, or exams (including solutions) publicly — for example, on platforms like GitHub — is strictly prohibited and may result in a failing grade in the course. Please refer to the Georgia Tech Academic Honor Code (opens in a new tab) for details.
- Late Work and RegradingPenalty applies
- Assignments may be submitted up to two days late with a 20% penalty; after that, no credit will be given. Regrading requests for exams and projects must be submitted in writing within the given timeline after grades are returned, with a clear explanation of the suspected grading error.
- Communication
- Check your email regularly for course announcements and updates. All communication should be professional and respectful.
- Code Commenting
- All submitted code must be thoroughly commented. Comments should explain the purpose and functionality of the code, and must include the original creation date and the correct last-modified date. Proper commenting is strictly required.
- Handouts
- Handouts can be downloaded from Canvas, which requires authentication. Handouts containing proprietary or copyrighted material are posted on the protected page and must not be made publicly available.
Questions about any of these should go to the course director, Dr. Saman Zonouz.
05
About the course
What the course covers, what you should already know, and what you will be able to do at the end.
This course covers introductory topics in cyber-physical systems security. The goal is to expose you to the fundamental security primitives specific to cyber-physical systems and to apply them to a broad range of current and future security challenges. Much of the course is taught with a focus on one instance of cyber-physical systems — industrial control systems (ICS) — but you will be expected to generalize the concepts to other cyber-physical systems.
You will work with tools and techniques that attackers use to compromise computer systems or otherwise interfere with normal operations, alongside tools unique to interacting with cyber-physical systems. The purpose of the class is NOT to teach you how to be a hacker, but rather to teach you the approaches attackers use so you can better defend against them. You will be graded on exams and completion of assignments.
Before you start
What you should already have covered.
- A computer networking course
- An information security course
- Programming experience in Python
What you will build
The areas this course develops.
- Industrial control systems concepts
- Cyber-physical systems security
- Hands-on security tool usage
- Critical thinking and problem solving
Learning objectives
The course is designed to help you:
- Describe what cyber-physical systems are
- Demonstrate what makes cyber-physical systems hard to secure
- Analyze common methods used to secure cyber-physical systems
- Evaluate the differences between securing traditional enterprise systems and cyber-physical systems
Learning outcomes
By the end you will be able to:
- Develop the ability to interact with cyber-physical systems components
- Develop the ability to interact with cyber-physical systems protocols
- Develop the ability to conduct attacks on cyber-physical systems protocols and systems
- Develop the ability to design cyber-physical systems and architectures that are resilient to attack
Project tooling
The main languages and tools in each mini project, if you want to prepare early.
- Mini Project 1
Design and simulation of industrial and control systems
- Factory IO
- Block diagrams
- ICS concepts
- Logic design
- Mini Project 2
PLC programming with ladder logic
- OpenPLC
- Ladder logic
- PLC programming
- Mini Project 3
Real-world ICS reconnaissance and attacks
- Networking
- Censys
- Shodan
- Mini Project 4
Secure system analysis using machine learning
- PyTorch
- Supervised learning
- Classification
06
Resources
Two required texts and 1 optional, plus the conference and journal papers listed with each week in the schedule.
No single textbook covers this material well, and both required books are references worth keeping for later jobs or research. You can buy them, or read them through the Georgia Tech Library (opens in a new tab) — as a student you have access to the journals and book services the university subscribes to, with the same login you use for Canvas.
- RequiredCited as “Knapp and Langill” in the weekly readings
Industrial Network Security
Securing Critical Infrastructure Networks for Smart Grid, SCADA, and Other Industrial Control Systems (2nd edition)
Eric D. Knapp and Joel Thomas Langill
ISBN 978-0124201149
- RequiredCited as “Knapp and Samani” in the weekly readings
Applied Cyber Security and the Smart Grid
Implementing Security Controls into the Modern Power Infrastructure
Eric D. Knapp and Raj Samani
ISBN 978-1597499989
- OptionalCited as “Bodungen et al.” in the weekly readings
Hacking Exposed Industrial Control Systems
ICS and SCADA Security Secrets & Solutions
Clint Bodungen, Bryan Singer, Aaron Shbeeb, Kyle Wilhoit, and Stephen Hilt
ISBN 978-1259589713
Where things live
This page is the syllabus. Everything you hand in, and everything you are given, is elsewhere.
07
Teaching staff
Office hours are by appointment — email to arrange a time.
