Biblio

Encryption is critical in protecting the confidentiality of users' data on mobile devices. However, research has shown that many mobile apps are not correctly using the ciphers, which makes them vulnerable to the attacks. The existing resources on cipher programming education do not provide enough practical scenarios to help students learn the cipher programming in the context of real world situations with programs that have complex interacting modules with access to networking, storage, and database. This poster introduces a course module that teaches students how to develop secure Android applications by correctly using Android's cryptography APIs. This course module is targeted to two areas where programmers commonly make many mistakes: password based encryption and SSL certificate validation. The core of the module includes a real world sample Android program for students to secure by implementing cryptographic components correctly. The course module will use open-ended problem solving to let students freely explore the multiple options in securing the application. The course module includes a lecture slide on Android's Crypto library, its common misuses, and suggested good practices. Assessment materials will also be included in the course module. This course module will be used and evaluated in a Network Security class. We will present the results of the evaluation in the conference.