Introduction to Cryptography

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

Fall semester 2012.

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. (Recommended) Textbook: Introduction to Modern Cryptography, J. Katz and Y. Lindell.
2. Textbook: Cryptography Theory and Practice, Second edition by D. Stinson.
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: 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.

Course Plan:

Lecture	Date	Subject	Files
1	30/10/2012	Introduction, Kerckhoff's principle, classic ciphers, perfect ciphers.	slides.
2	6/11/2012	Pseudo-random generators, stream ciphers.	slides.
3	13/11/2012	Block ciphers.	slides.
4	20/11/2012	Block ciphers.	slides.  additional homework
5	27/11/2012	Differential cryptanalysis. MACs/	slides.
6	4/12/2012	Public key crypto. Number theory.	slides.
7	11/12/2012	Diffie Hellman key exchange. El Gamal encryption.	slides.  Homework 2
8	18/12/2012	El Gamal encryption. RSA.	slides.
9	25/12/2012	RSA. Digital signatures.	slides.
10	1/1/2013	Digital signatures. Certificate authorities.	slides.
11	8/1/2013	Cerificate revocation. SSL/TLS. Number theory algorithms.	slides. Homework 3 (updated)
12	15/1/2013	Number theory algorithms. Secret sharing. Electronic cash.	slides.

Sample exams:

• Spring semester 2011, moed a.
• Spring semester 2011, moed b.

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: January 27, 2013.