COMP61411 Cryptography syllabus 2021-2022
COMP61411 Cryptography
Level 6
Credits: 15
Enrolled students: pending
Course leader: Richard Banach
Additional staff: view all staff
Assessment methods
- 50% Written exam
- 50% Coursework
- Cyber Security
Overview
This course unit detail provides the framework for delivery in 20/21 and may be subject to change due to any additional Covid-19 impact. Current students should see Blackboard/course unit related emails for any further updates.
Cryptographic techniques today lie at the heart of the strategies used to protect users' data from unauthorised access. They come into their own particularly when data has to be transmitted across unreliable and unprotected networks.
Aims
The course aims to give students a good appreciation of cryptographic techniques, as they have arisen historically, and as they are used today.
Syllabus
- Early cryptography: permutations and substitutions, Vignere, Vernam, one time pads, etc.
- Rotor machines: Enigma and its relatives.
- Case study: Marian Rejewski and the breaking of the German Enigma.
- Modern cryptography, secret key: block cyphers, DES, AES, etc.
- Modern cryptography, public key: Diffie-Hellman, RSA, elliptic curves.
- Message authentication, hash functions.
- Quantum cryptography: quantum key distribution in practice.
Feedback methods
Feedback is provided face to face in the lab, and online for uploaded assessed materials.Study hours
- Assessment written exam (2 hours)
- Lectures (20 hours)
- Practical classes & workshops (15 hours)
Employability skills
- Analytical skills
- Problem solving
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, a student will be able to:
- Comment on the broad principles underlying cryptography and its applications.
- Describe some of the classical cryptographic techniques and their weaknesses.
- Describe the principles of the most widely used private key cryptographic schemes.
- Describe the principles of the most widely used public key key cryptographic schemes.
Reading list
| Title | Author | ISBN | Publisher | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cryptography and network security : principles and practice | Stallings, William, author. | 9781292158587 | Pearson | 2017 |
Additional notes
Links to course unit teaching materials can be found on the Department of Computer Science website for current students.