SYLLABUS PAGE, 2007/08

06-20008
Cryptography

Level 4/M

Dr V Sorge

10 credits in Sem1

The School of Computer Science Module Description is a strict subset of this Syllabus Page. (The University module description has not yet been checked against the School's.)

Relevant Links

For more information and the lecture notes see the Cryptography Homepage.

The module will present the fundamentals of cryptography, as well as its applications and issues of how cryptography is used in practice.

The aims of this module are to:

Introduce the basic terminology, concepts, and standards of cryptography.
Familiarise students with the main approaches, algorithms, and protocols in modern cryptography.
Explain the principles and underlying mathematical theory of todays cryptographic algorithms.
Provide an understanding of potential weaknesses and problems with ciphers and cryptographic protocols.
Raise awareness of some of the legal and socio-ethical issues surrounding cryptography.

On successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:		Assessed by:
1	Explain the fundamentals of cryptography, such as encryption, digital signatures and secure hashes.	Examination
2	Select appropriate techniques and apply them to solve a given problem.	Examination
3	Design and evaluate security protocols appropriate for a given situation.	Examination
4	Demonstrate an understanding of the mathematical underpinning of cryptography.	Examination
5	Demonstrate an understanding of some legal and socio-ethical issues surrounding cryptography.	Examination

Restrictions:

None

Prerequisites:

None

Co-requisites:

None

Teaching methods:

3 hours/week lectures/exercise classes

Contact hours:

Normal (sessional): 1.5 hr examination (80%), continuous assessment (20%).

Resit (supplementary) assessment (where allowed): By examination only (100%).

Title	Author(s)	Publisher, Date	Comments
Practical Cryptography	N Fergueson & B Schneier	John Wiley & Sons, 2003	Supplementary Reading
Applied Cryptography	B Schneier	John Wiley & Sons, 1996	Supplementary Reading
Handbook of Applied Cryptography	A J Menezes, P C van Oorschot & S A Vanstone	CRC Press, 1996	Supplementary Reading
Cryptography	N Smart	McGraw Hill, 2003	Supplementary Reading
Beginning Cryptography with Java	D Hook	John Wiley & Sons, 2005	Book on Programming
Contemporary Cryptology	D Catalano, R Cramer, I Damgard, G Di Crescenzo, D Pointcheval & T Takagi	Springer Verlag, 2005	Advanced Material

Overview on Historical Ciphers
Symmetric Ciphers
- Block Ciphers
- Stream Ciphers
- Key Management
Asymmetric Ciphers
- Diffie-Hellman
- Public Key Cryptography
- RSA
- Cramer Shoup
Signatures, Certificates, Data Integrity
Quantum cryptography