[GH-ISSUE #407] Student Feedback - Chapter 14 #1410

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GiteaMirror · 2026-04-11T07:48:13-05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-11 07:48:13 -05:00

Originally created by @jasonjabbour on GitHub (Aug 27, 2024).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/harvard-edge/cs249r_book/issues/407

Originally assigned to: @jasonjabbour on GitHub.

Chapter 14 - Security & Privacy

We felt like we got all Learning Objectives except for the last one (we don't really recall a discussion of electrical, firmware, etc.)
One thing that would super helpful across chapters would be some common formatting standard. This goes for both layout and more nitty-gritty formatting things like bolding subheaders, font size, indentations, etc. For instance, a lot of chapters have Historical Precedence sections (like this one), but some include them in the beginning and other in the middle/end. Some chapters include a "Terminology" section at the beginning (which is super super super helpful!) while others do not.
This chapter again begins with a roadmap of where the chapter is going -- this should be included in all chapters or none of them (again, a standardization thing)
There are a lot of terms in this chapter that are redefined from previous chapters or just stated with no real context. This makes us a think that an Index to the book could be really helpful -- we could include terms like GDPR (which is again redefined in this chapter) that we can allow users to reference as needed. As is, too many terms are redefined or not given any background, which really detracts from comprehension.
There are nine case studies in this chapter. We think that some should be cut, as reading all nine gets a little tedious. Importantly, the formatting/naming of the case studies should be standardized. Some are just titled "Case Study" (like in 14.4.1) while others are numbered like "Case Study 1" (14.4.2) and others are given names like "Case Study: Apple's Face ID" (14.6.2) or "Case Study - Performance-Based Data Minimization" (14.7.4). We think that the naming with a colon is the best way to differentiate the studies (i.e. "Case Study: Apple's Face ID"), but really any standard practice works.
We think that one of the three historical precedent examples in 14.3 Historical Precedent could be cut to minimize unnecessary reiteration; the third (14.3.3 Mirai Botnet) seems the least necessary.
Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) in section 14.4.3 Adversarial Attacks has been defined and explained in previous chapters -- again, this would be a good inclusion in some kind of Index, so we don't have to keep redefining terms that have already been explained. Later in this same chapter, we see it defined again in basically the exact same manner in section 14.8.6. Synthetic Data Generation -- we should probably cut this duplication.
Figure 14.3, 14.4, and 14.5 were hard to understand. We recommend replacing them.
14.6 Embedded ML Hardware Security introduced a lot of acronyms and terms. We didn't think all of them were necessary and were likely to confused readers.
14.6.3 Hardware Security Modules "Benefits" section could be reformatted into a table to improve readability.
14.7.2 Applicable Regulations redefined a bunch of regulations that have been defined earlier in the textbook (like GDPR and HIPAA). Again, this would be a good use case for an index.
There was a chapter that included a case study on Gboards earlier in the textbook. There is another one on Gboards in the 14.8.2 Federated Learning section -- do we want to duplicate a case study on the same topic? If not, we should probably cut this.
14.8.5 is titled Secure MultipartyMultiparty Communication -- we assumed this was a typo.
Machine Learning Systems - 14 Security & Privacy.pdf

Originally posted by @sgiannuzzi39 in https://github.com/harvard-edge/cs249r_book/discussions/256#discussioncomment-10053681

Originally created by @jasonjabbour on GitHub (Aug 27, 2024). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/harvard-edge/cs249r_book/issues/407 Originally assigned to: @jasonjabbour on GitHub. **Chapter 14 - Security & Privacy** - We felt like we got all Learning Objectives except for the last one (we don't really recall a discussion of electrical, firmware, etc.) - One thing that would super helpful across chapters would be some common formatting standard. This goes for both layout and more nitty-gritty formatting things like bolding subheaders, font size, indentations, etc. For instance, a lot of chapters have Historical Precedence sections (like this one), but some include them in the beginning and other in the middle/end. Some chapters include a "Terminology" section at the beginning (which is super super super helpful!) while others do not. - This chapter again begins with a roadmap of where the chapter is going -- this should be included in all chapters or none of them (again, a standardization thing) - There are a lot of terms in this chapter that are redefined from previous chapters or just stated with no real context. This makes us a think that an Index to the book could be really helpful -- we could include terms like GDPR (which is again redefined in this chapter) that we can allow users to reference as needed. As is, too many terms are redefined or not given any background, which really detracts from comprehension. - There are nine case studies in this chapter. We think that some should be cut, as reading all nine gets a little tedious. Importantly, the formatting/naming of the case studies should be standardized. Some are just titled "Case Study" (like in **14.4.1**) while others are numbered like "Case Study 1" (**14.4.2**) and others are given names like "Case Study: Apple's Face ID" (**14.6.2**) or "Case Study - Performance-Based Data Minimization" (**14.7.4**). We think that the naming with a colon is the best way to differentiate the studies (i.e. "Case Study: Apple's Face ID"), but really any standard practice works. - We think that one of the three historical precedent examples in **14.3 Historical Precedent** could be cut to minimize unnecessary reiteration; the third (**14.3.3 Mirai Botnet**) seems the least necessary. - Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) in section **14.4.3 Adversarial Attacks** has been defined and explained in previous chapters -- again, this would be a good inclusion in some kind of Index, so we don't have to keep redefining terms that have already been explained. Later in this same chapter, we see it defined again in basically the exact same manner in section **14.8.6. Synthetic Data Generation** -- we should probably cut this duplication. - _Figure 14.3, 14.4,_ and _14.5_ were hard to understand. We recommend replacing them. - **14.6 Embedded ML Hardware Security** introduced a lot of acronyms and terms. We didn't think all of them were necessary and were likely to confused readers. - **14.6.3 Hardware Security Modules** "Benefits" section could be reformatted into a table to improve readability. - **14.7.2 Applicable Regulations** redefined a bunch of regulations that have been defined earlier in the textbook (like GDPR and HIPAA). Again, this would be a good use case for an index. - There was a chapter that included a case study on Gboards earlier in the textbook. There is another one on Gboards in the **14.8.2 Federated Learning** section -- do we want to duplicate a case study on the same topic? If not, we should probably cut this. - **14.8.5** is titled **Secure MultipartyMultiparty Communication** -- we assumed this was a typo. [Machine Learning Systems - 14 Security & Privacy.pdf](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/16237924/Machine.Learning.Systems.-.14.Security.Privacy.pdf) _Originally posted by @sgiannuzzi39 in https://github.com/harvard-edge/cs249r_book/discussions/256#discussioncomment-10053681_

GiteaMirror added the area: book type: improvement labels 2026-04-11 07:48:13 -05:00

GiteaMirror closed this issue

2026-04-11 07:48:14 -05:00

GiteaMirror referenced this issue

2026-04-21 22:23:49 -05:00

[PR #1410] [MERGED] fix(book): route per-volume builds to per-volume index pages #6530

GiteaMirror referenced this issue

2026-04-21 22:23:51 -05:00

[PR #1411] [MERGED] fix(book-publish): bump version in BOTH per-volume index files #6531

GiteaMirror referenced this issue

2026-04-27 17:28:55 -05:00

[PR #1410] [MERGED] fix(book): route per-volume builds to per-volume index pages #8177