# Hot Topics in Privacy Enhancing Technologies—Spring 2023

**Source**: https://crysp.uwaterloo.ca/courses/pet/S23/index.html
**Parent**: https://crysp.uwaterloo.ca/courses/

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Instructor | [Ian Goldberg](https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/%7Eiang/) |
| E-mail | [iang@uwaterloo.ca](mailto:iang@uwaterloo.ca) |
| Seminar times | MW 2:00–3:50 pm |
| Office Hours | Th 11:00 am–noon, or by appointment |

## [Suggested Reading List](https://crysp.uwaterloo.ca/courses/pet/S23/readinglist.html)

## Students only:

## [Discussion Forum](https://piazza.com/uwaterloo.ca/spring2023/cs858)

## [Paper selection preferences](https://thunk.cs.uwaterloo.ca/pet-s23/prefs/)

## [Paper reviews](https://thunk.cs.uwaterloo.ca/pet-s23/papers/)

## Overview

This is a seminar course that examines current research into
technologies that help users maintain their privacy, both online
and in the real world.

## Classes

This online synchronous seminar will take place within the BigBlueButton
(BBB) web conferencing server [a link to the online seminar room can
be found on [LEARN](https://learn.uwaterloo.ca/d2l/home/909230)]. The seminar will primarily consist of
reading, reviewing, and presenting research papers. There will be
two papers assigned to each class period, selected from
the following topics:

- Privacy
- PETs for the Internet
- Private Computation: Trusted Hardware
- Private Computation: Cryptography
- Private Computation: Information Dispersal
- Private Communication: Metadata Protection
- Private Communication: Censorship Resistance

All students are to have read both of the papers before the
class, and to have [submitted a review](https://thunk.cs.uwaterloo.ca/pet-s23/papers/) for one of them (of the
student's choice) by 1:00 pm on the day of the lecture. Each paper
will be presented to the class by one student, in a 25-minute
conference-style presentation. The student presenting the paper
will then lead the class in a discussion of the paper, taking 55
minutes for the presentation and discussion in total for each
paper. Students should follow the [presentation checklist](https://crysp.uwaterloo.ca/courses/pet/S23/presentation_checklist.pdf) when
creating their presentations.

Students may choose to present live in the BBB room, or they may
pre-record their presentations to be played back in the BBB room
during their allotted time. Seminar presentations will be recorded
and made available via LEARN for the following 14 days.

Note that all times for this course are specified in Eastern Time
(the timezone of Waterloo and Toronto).

## Projects

Students will work in pairs on an original research project on
some topic related to privacy enhancing technologies. Each pair
will submit a proposal to the instructor no later than **June 8 at
1:00 pm**. Near the end of term, they will present their work to the
class in a 30-minute (including five minutes for questions)
conference-style presentation. In addition, by August 1,
they will produce a workshop-quality paper, 10–15 pages in
length, describing their project.

## Grading

Grades for this seminar will be calculated as follows:

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| 20% | Paper presentations |
| 15% | Reviews of papers |
| 15% | Class participation |
| 50% | Project |

Grades will be available after the end of term through
LEARN.

## Academic Integrity

Note that students are not generally permitted to submit the same
work for credit in multiple classes. For example, if a student
has reviewed or presented one of the papers in another seminar
class, he or she should avoid reviewing or presenting it again for
this class.

The general university policy:

- **Academic integrity**: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. [Check [the Office of Academic Integrity](https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/) for more information.]
- **Grievance:** A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of their university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read [Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4](https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-70). When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.
- **Discipline:** A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for their actions. [Check [the Office of Academic Integrity](https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/) for more information.] A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to [Policy 71, Student Discipline](https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-71). For typical penalties, check [Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties](https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/guidelines/guidelines-assessment-penalties).
- **Appeals:** A decision made or penalty imposed under [Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances](https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-70) (other than a petition) or [Policy 71, Student Discipline](https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-71) may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they have a ground for an appeal should refer to [Policy 72, Student Appeals](https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-72).

## Note for students with disabilities

[AccessAbility Services](https://uwaterloo.ca/disability-services/), located in Needles Hall, Room 1401, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.

## Mental Health Support

All of us need a support system. We encourage you to seek out
mental health supports when they are needed.

On-campus Resources:

- Campus Wellness: <https://uwaterloo.ca/campus-wellness/>
- Counselling
  Services: [counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca](mailto:counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca) 519-888-4567 ext. 32655
- MATES: <https://wusa.ca/wusa-101-mates/> one-to-one peer support program offered by Waterloo
  Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) and Counselling Services: [mates@wusa.ca](mailto:mates@wusa.ca)
- Health Services <https://uwaterloo.ca/campus-wellness/health-services>: located across the creek from the
  Student Life Centre, 519-888-4096.

Off-campus Resources:

- Good2Talk (24/7): Free confidential help line for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-5454
  (Ontario and Nova Scotia only)
- Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247 (Waterloo Region only)
- OK2BME: set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning teens. Phone:
  519-884-0000 extension 213 (Waterloo Region only)
- EMPOWER ME  1-833-628-5589 from Canada/US. Other countries see:
  <https://studentcare.ca/rte/en/IHaveAPlan_WUSA_EmpowerMe_EmpowerMe>

## Diversity

It is our intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this
course, and that students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class. We recognize the immense value
of the diversity in identities, perspectives, and contributions that students bring, and the benefit it has on
our educational environment. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let us know ways to improve
the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups. In particular:

- We will gladly honour your request to address you by an alternate/preferred name or gender pronoun.
  Please advise us of this preference early in the term so we may make appropriate changes to our records.
- We will honour your religious holidays and celebrations. Please inform us of these at the start of the
  course.
- We will follow AccessAbility Services guidelines and protocols on how to best support students with
  different learning needs.

## Territorial Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territory
of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee
peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand
Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten
kilometres on each side of the Grand River.