A presentation and evaluation of guided-learning activities and program visualization tool, dissav, to teach stack smashing

1 online resource (56 pages) : PDF

2022

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The aim of this thesis is to improve student learning of advanced cybersecurity topics, more specifically, stack smashing attacks, by increasing student engagement and interaction. To achieve the aim, this thesis develops a program visualization tool for teaching stack smashing attacks, DISSAV (Dynamic Interactive Stack Smashing Attack Visualization) with an accompanying hands-on activity. DISSAV provides a simulated attack scenario that guides the user through a three-part stack smashing attack. The hands-on activity assists the user throughout conducting an attack while highlighting key stack smashing concepts for students. In addition, this thesis incorporates a collection of guided-learning activities into a secure software module. The collection of guided-learning activities help student groups work systematically through increasingly challenging content and questions that eventually help them infer and co-construct knowledge with their peers, unlike traditional lecture-style pedagogy. This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of DISSAV , the hands-on activity and theguided-learning activities and presents the results of deploying them within a software security module in two sections of an undergraduate, introductory cybersecurity course in the Fall 2021 semester, reaching a total of roughly 100 students. Results from a student survey, including two user interface, six student learning, and six student engagement questions, are presented. Results indicate that the majority of students have positive responses to the student engagement questions while 10.3% of responses are negative. For student learning, nearly 80% of responses are positive while under 4% of responses are negative. This thesis then evaluates data based on a number of factors including age and prior experience with stack smashing attacks, program visualization tools and C programming to see how effective DISSAV is across different demographics. This thesis finds consistent responses to the student engagement questions across different demographics. Finally, the thesis compares student performance in past semesters where the software security module was taught using traditional approaches, i.e., without using guided-learning activities or program visualization tools, to that in Fall 2021. The thesis concludes that the guided-learning activities and program visualization tool help improve the majority of students’ engagement and perceived learning.

masters theses

Computer science

M.S.

Buffer Overflow
Program Visualization
Stack Smashing Attacks

Computer Science

Sridhar, Meera
Ramaprasad, Harini

Saule, Erik

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2022.

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Akeyson_uncc_0694N_13118

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:2793