Topics in Cryptography

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Instructor: Benny Pinkas, benny (at) pinkas.net.

Fall semester 2007/8.

Description:

This course is an introduction to the basic theory and practice of cryptographic techniques. We will cover topics such as encryption (secret-key and public-key), digital signatures, secure authentication, secret sharing, and cryptographic protocols.

Prerequisites:

Probability theory, Linear Algebra, Number Theory, "Mathematical Maturity".

Grading:

• Final exam 75%

• Homework 25%

Reading:

1. Textbook: Cryptography Theory and Practice, Second edition by D. Stinson.
2. Textbook: Introduction to Modern Cryptography, J. Katz and Y. Lindell.
3. מבוא לקריפטוגרפיה : מדריך למידה לספר  Cryptography: theory and practice / תמיר טסה
4. Optional (Free!): Handbook of Applied Cryptography, by A. Menezes, P. Van Oorschot, S. Vanstone. 
5. Optional (Free!): Introduction to Cryptography Applied to Secure Communication and Commerce, by Amir Herzberg.
6. Optional: Applied Cryptography, by B. Schneier.

הערה לגבי השקפים: החומר המחייב למבחן הינו החומר המועבר בכיתה ולא החומר שנמצא בשקפים. יתכן וסטודנט אשר יסתמך על השקפים בלבד יתקשה לפתור את המבחן.

ציונים

Course Plan:

Lecture	Date	Subject	Files
1	12/2/08	Introduction, Kerckhoff's principle, classic ciphers, perfect ciphers.	slides.
2	19/2/08	Perfect ciphers, pseudo-randomness, streak ciphers, block ciphers.	slides.
3	26/2/08	Block ciphers. Encryption modes. DES.	slides.
4	4/3/08	Differential cryptanalysis of DES. Message authentication.	slides.
5	11/3/08	Basic number theory. Diffie-Hellman key exchange.	slides. See also: a basic  number theory fact sheet, and  a primer on number theory for computer scientists.
6	18/3/08	Diffie-Hellman key exchange. El Gamal encryption.	slides.
7	25/3/08	El Gamal encryption. RSA encryption	slides.
8	1/4/08	RSA encryption. Rabin encryption.	slides.
9	8/4/08	Rabin encryption. Digital signatures.	slides.
10	15/4/08	Signatures, PKI, SSL/TLS.	slides.

Homeworks:

homework 1

homework 2

homework 3

sample exam

A sample of other crypto courses on the web (with slides or lecture notes available online):

(in no particular order)

• Eli Biham's course at the Technion.
• Amos Fiat's course in Tel Aviv University.
• Amir Herzberg's course in Bar Ilan University.
• Yehuda Lindell's course in Bar Ilan University.
• David Wagner's course in Berkeley.
• Salil Vadhan's course in Harvard.
• Mihir Bellare's course in UCSD.

Last updated: April 29, 2008.