Please note: Due to alternative arrangements for teaching and
assessment in place from 18 March 2020 to mitigate against the restrictions in
place due to COVID-19, information shown for 2019/20 may not always be accurate.
Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information
for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Cryptography A |
| Unit code |
COMS30002 |
| Credit points |
10 |
| Level of study |
H/6
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Dupressoir |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
COMS20002 or a comparable background in discrete mathematics
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
Department of Computer Science |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Engineering |
Description including Unit Aims
Cryptography is a highly interdisciplinary field, with a lengthy and interesting history stemming from mathematical roots. Starting from historical ciphers (e.g., letter substitution etc.), the aim of this unit is to introduce various fundamentals of cryptography from a modern perspective. The main focus is design and security aspects of schemes used to ensure secrecy and authenticity; we all routinely rely on such schemes in use-cases such as network communication and storage.
The syllabus will include aspects of (but is not limited to):
- Mathematical preliminaries: basic modular arithmetic (inc. CRT); basic group and field theory; fundamental algorithms (e.g., GCD); cryptographic reductions.
- Symmetric cryptography: security models and proofs; encryption schemes (e.g., AES); cryptographic hash functions and MACs; modes of operation (e.g., CBC, CTR etc.); basic cryptanalysis.
- Asymmetric cryptography: security models and proofs; encryption schemes (e.g., RSA and ElGamal); digital signature schemes (e.g., RSA signatures, or DSA); modes of operation (i.e., padding schemes etc.); basic cryptanalysis.
Intended Learning Outcomes
After following this unit you should be able to:
- Explain and apply the principles of modern cryptology in the context of secure communication
- Explain and demonstrate the functionality and desired security of standard cryptographic schemes used for confidentiality and authenticity.
- Link the design and operation of standard, state-of-the-art symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic schemes to their mathematical underpinnings.
- Use basic cryptanalytic techniques to evaluate the security level of simple cryptographic schemes.
Teaching Information
20 hours of lectures (2 hours per week), 10 hours of (supervised, but non-taught) problem classes (1 hour per week).
Assessment Information
100% exam
Reading and References
J. Katz and Y. Lindell. Introduction to Modern Cryptography. Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2011. ISBN: 1584885513.
Cryptography Made Simple" by Nigel P. Smart, Springer, 2016 ISBN 978-3-319-21935-6
