Course Review – Programming Cloud Services for Android Handheld Systems: Security

Here is my review of Jun-Jul 2015 Coursera offering of Programming Cloud Services for Android Handheld Systems: Security, which is the last course in
Mobile Cloud Computing with Android Specialization. The course rankings are inconclusive, while I passed with 100% grade.

Technologies and Material. The course provides extensive introduction into client-server and mobile security. Discussed are web sessions, HTTPS, Oath 2.0, classic man-in-the-middle and SQL injection attacks + security model of Android. Homework includes checking and fixing the vulnerabilities of Android 4.0, implementing basic Oath 2.0 token authentication + basic (self-signed) certificate validation. Defensive programming techniques are outlined. Such material is often lacking in basic CS courses and this Coursera course fills the gap.

Instructor/lectures. The course is taught primarily by Dr. Jules White (Vandelrbilt) He uses a Lightboard described below. Unfortunately, no lecture notes/slides are provided, thus reconstructing course material is non-trivial. Relevant real life examples emphasize the importance of security.

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