Cryptography

Objectives:

At the end of the course the student should:
•    comprehend the difference between classic and modern cryptography;
•    explain the advantages and disadvantages of symmetric and asymmetric cryptosystems;
•    compare modern cryptosystems and cryptographic protocols;
•    deepen in the theoretical background of cryptography, and
•    develop algorithms and programs in order to implement cryptosystems.

Skills:

Simulation of cryptographic communication, develop and evaluate code in Sage.

Prerequisites:

Undergraduate background in Discrete Mathematics and Computer Science

Content:

Stream Ciphers

Block Ciphers – AES

Public-key Cryptography – RSA, Elgamal, Rabin

Elliptic Curve Cryptography: elliptic curves (EC), EC cryptosystems (ElGamal, Diffie-Hellman key exchange)

Hash functions and Message Authentication Codes (MAC)

Digital signatures

Identity Based Cryptography (ΙΒΕ): encryption schemes with bilinear pairings and quadratic residues, comparison with other public-key encryption/decryption schemes.

Cryptographic Protocols: advanced cryptographic protocols, interactive proofs and zero-knowledge protocols, secure multi-party computation, secure e-voting systems.

Textbooks:

1. Understanding Cryptography, A Textbook for Students and Practitioners, Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl

2. Handbook of Applied Cryptography, A.J. Menezes, P.C. van Oorschot and S.A. Vanstone, http://cacr.uwaterloo.ca/hac/

3. Introduction to Mathematical Cryptography, J. Hoffstein, J. Pipher, J.H. Silverman, Springer.

4. N.Smart, Cryptography, An Introduction, http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/~nigel/Crypto_Book/

Assessment:

40% project assignment

60% final written examination

Webpage:

http://compus.uom.gr/MINF207/index.php