Introduction to basic ideas of modern cryptography with emphasis on mathematical background and practical implementation. Topics include:Here is another description of this course:Touches upon some of the societal issues of cryptography. Crosslisted as MA 479 and CSSE 479.
- the history of cryptography and cryptanalysis,
- public and private key cryptography,
- digital signatures, and
- limitations of modern cryptography.
Alice and Bob are connected by a public communication channel. Any message transmitted over this channel might be altered arbitrarily (by some attacker). One central question of this course is: How can Alice send a message M to Bob in such a way that:This seminar investigates both methods for addressing the above question and attacks on such methods. The methods to be discussed include classical approaches (like Caesar's cipher), block-cipher systems (like DES and AES) and public-key cryptosystems (like RSA).
- No one except Bob can see M, and
- In the end, Bob knows that what he received is what Alice intended to send.
In addition, this seminar will:
- Touch upon some of the societal issues of cryptography.
- Provide an opportunity for you to:
- Investigate and present a research topic in cryptography.
- Hear many such presentations from your fellow students.
- Mathematical maturity and familiarity with discrete mathematics, as evidenced by (for example) successful completion of MA 275 (Discrete and Combinatorial Algebra I).
- The ability to design and implement software solutions to small problems, in the language of your choice, as evidenced by (for example) successful completion of CSSE 220 (Fundamentals of Software Development II).
|
Each problem has a stated number of "points". For example, problem 1 of the Inspired by Computer Science Homework set 1 is 4 points. You should do problems as follows:
There are no exams.
Paper-and-pencil exercises 60% Small programming projects Oral report on a research article 20% Research proposal 10% Discussions of the readings 10%