Using Cloud-Hosted Virtual Machines in Teaching Computer and Network Security

@Unpublished{ talk:brucker:cloud-in-security-teaching:2026,
  author     = {Achim D. Brucker},
  date       = {2025-07-22},
  title      = {Using Cloud-Hosted Virtual Machines in Teaching Computer and
                Network Security},
  eventtitle = {Advances in Cyber Security Education (AiCSE 2025)},
  language   = {english},
  areas      = {security},
  venue      = {Coventry, UK},
  abstract   = {The widespread availability of AI tools introduces new
                challenges in education, particularly in teaching and
                assessing applied skills through hands-on activities. In
                computer and network security courses, additional hurdles
                arise due to strict network policies enforced by universities
                and other organizations.
                
                To address these challenges, we employ cloud-hosted virtual
                machines (VMs) that allow the use of security testing tools
                and provide students with administrative privileges --
                practices typically restricted by university IT policies.
                Hosting the system in the cloud enables students to access the
                VMs remotely, including from off-campus locations. This
                flexibility proved especially valuable during the COVID-19
                pandemic, when remote learning was necessary.
                
                Additionally, we extended this setup to support individualized
                assessments in the form of a capture-the-flag (CTF)
                competition.
                
                In this presentation, we describe our cloud-based VM teaching
                and assessment infrastructure and report on our experiences
                using it in an introductory computer and network security
                course, mandatory for all undergraduate computer science
                students.},
}