CSC 433 - Privacy in the Digital Age, Fall 2026


** Lecture topics and readings are subject to change as the semester evolves. Slides will be uploaded right after class.

Date Topic Reading Note
08/18 Introduction and course overview [Slide]
Topic: Database Privacy
08/20 Data De-anonymization [Slide]
08/25 k-anonymity [Slide]
08/27 l-diversity, t-closeness [Slide]
09/01 Differential privacy [Slide] Tutorial on Differential Privacy
09/03 Private Information Retrieval (PIR) [Slide]
Topic: Online Privacy
09/08 Online tracking: stateful [Slide]
09/10 Online tracking: stateless [Slide]
09/15 Privacy tools for web browsing [Slide]
09/17 Anonymous communication [Slide]
09/22 Tor network [Slide]
09/24 Midterm Exam Review In class discussion
09/29 No Class Wellness day
10/01 Midterm Exam In class exam Topics covered upto 02/18 (inclusive)
Topic: Machine learning and Privacy
10/06 Privacy Attacks on machine learning models (part 1) [Slide]
10/08 Privacy Attacks on machine learning models (part 2) [Slide]
10/13 Privacy perserving machine learning [Slide]
10/15 Fairness and auditing of automated systems [Slide]
10/20 No Class Fall break
10/22 Privacy and safety issues with generative AI [Slide]
Topic: Legal Aspects of Privacy
10/27 Privacy acts and frameworks [Slide]
10/29 Privacy notices [Slide]
11/03 Privacy policy compliance [Slide]
Topic: Perception of Privacy
11/05 Privacy index and Factors influencing privacy attitude [Slide]
11/10 Modeling users' privacy preferences [Slide]
Topic: Emerging Privacy Threats
11/12 Bitcoin and privacy [Slide] Video lecture
bitcoin-what-is-it
bitcoin
11/17 Network-level Inference attacks [Slide]
11/19 Acoustic and Motion sensor based inference attacks [Slide]
11/24 Final Project Presentation In class discussion
11/26 No Class Thanksgiving break
12/01 Final Exam Review [Slide] In class discussion Final group report due
12/03 Final Exam In Class (3:30pm - 5pm) Excluding Mid-term Exam Content