Unit information: Cryptography A in 2014/15

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. Stam
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
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

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to

• understand the Mathematical underpinnings of cryptography,
• appreciate and apply appropriate cryptographic proofs of security,
• understand the design and operation of standard, state-of-the-art symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic schemes,
• appreciate basic cryptanalytic techniques, and apply this knowledge to problems such as selection of key size.

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% via examination.

Reading and References

J. Katz and Y. Lindell. Introduction to Modern Cryptography. Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2011. ISBN: 1584885513.