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 |
Applied Cryptography |
| Unit code |
COMS30010 |
| Credit points |
10 |
| Level of study |
H/6
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Page |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
COMS30002
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
Department of Computer Science |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Engineering |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit delivers an introduction to two sub-fields of cryptography, namely applied cryptography and cryptographic engineering. As such, the unit content can be summarised as spanning three core topics:
- efficient implementation techniques for standard symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic primitives,
- implementation (specifically side-channel and fault injection) attack and mitigation techniques, and
- system-level applications of cryptography, e.g., deployment in standard protocols such as TLS.
The aim is to equip students with understanding and skills that enable use (i.e., design, implementation, deployment, and analysis) of cryptographic technologies, when addressing real-world (e.g., industrially relevant) problems. By offering an applied, practical perspective on the field of cryptography, it complements, and therefore represents an ideal companion for, other units offering a more theoretical perspective.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Within the context of cryptography, successful completion of this unit will enable students to
- understand and use a range of state-of-the-art implementation techniques,
- understand and use a range of state-of-the-art implementation attack and countermeasure techniques,
- reason about the security of a system in an "end to end" manner, i.e., from the theoretical underpinnings to the concrete implementation, and
- use case-study and practical experience to avoid pitfalls in deployment and configuration of existing systems.
Teaching Information
2 two-hour lab. sessions per week.
Assessment Information
This unit is assessed 100% by individual coursework.
Reading and References
- Jean-Philippe Aumasson. Serious Cryptography. No Starch Press, 2017.
- Niels Ferguson, Bruce Schneier, and Tadayoshi Kohno. Cryptography Engineering: Design Principles and Practical Applications. John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
- Ross Anderson. Security Engineering. John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
