CS5231: Cryptographic Techniques and Data Security

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Semester I, 2005-2006 (Wednesdays 6.30 pm - 8.30 pm, LT33)

Last update: Monday, 07-Nov-2005 17:08:58 +08


Table of Contents



General Information

Lecturer: Mohan S Kankanhalli

Lectures: 26 Hours (Wednesdays, 6.30pm - 8.30pm, LT33)

Midterm Examination: 17th September, AM

Final Examination: 23rd November, 7.30pm

Aims and Objectives:

This course aims to develop a critical appreciation of the fundamental cryptographic techniques and a solid understanding of data security issues.

Brief Description:

With the widespread use of computers and internet as well as the rapid spread of electronic commerce, computer security has become very important. This course introduces the main cryptographic methods for communication and computer system security. The topics include: symmetric ciphers, public key cryptography, stream ciphers and block ciphers, digital signatures, message authentication, operating system security, access control, entry authentication and key distribution mechanisms, network security and privacy. The course will also cover international standards that implement the concepts.

Grading information:

Project: 40%
Midterm Exam: 20% [open book]
Final Exam: 40% [open book]

Pre-requisites:

Office consultation hours:

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Brief Course Outline

* Cryptographic Techniques (12 hrs)
  
Introduction and background, Classical Cryptography, Number theory and information theory background; Symmetric key cryptography;
    Data Encryption Standard; Public key cryptography; Diffie-Hellman key exchange; RSA; Advanced Encryption Standard; Elliptic Curve
    Cryptography
* Authentication (4 hrs)
  
Message authentication; Cryptographic hashing; Passwords; Challenge-response systems
* Operating Systems Security (2 hrs)
  
Access control models; Security models & policies; OS Security mechanisms
* Privacy (2 hrs)
* Network Security (2 hrs)
  
Network security basics; Web Security
* Non-traditional cryptography (2 hrs)
  
Visual cryptography; Introduction to quantum cryptography
* Current Issues & Trends (2 hrs)

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Course Material

The main textbook for the course will be:

The course will be centered around the above textbook, supplemented by material from elsewhere wherever required. In addition, you may wish to look at this book on computer security:

It is not necessary to buy Gollman's book. I will be covering some parts of operating systems security from Gollman's book. I will provide any supplementary material if required. For each lecture, I will email the slides to the whole class a few days before the day of that lecture. So please do subscribe to the class mailing list. In order to subscribe to the class mailing list, please send an email to "cs5231-l-request@comp.nus.edu.sg" with the word "subscribe" in the subject line and with no message.

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Project Information

The details of the project will be posted here:

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Class Schedule

10th Aug (Week 1): Introduction & Classical Cryptography

17th Aug (Week 2): Symmetric Key Cryptography 1

24th Aug (Week 3): Symmetric Key Cryptography 2

31st Aug (Week 4): Public Key Cryptography 1

7th Sep (Week 5): Public Key Cryptography 2

14th Sep (Week 6): AES and Elliptic Curve Cryptography

17th Sep AM: Midterm Examination  10.00am @ LT33

This will be an open-book exam and it will be based on the material covered till Sep 7 (which is public key cryptography).

21st Sep Semester Break

28th Sep (Week 7): Message Authentication & Hashing

5th Oct (Week 8): Passwords and Authentication

12th Oct (Week 9): Operating Systems Security

19th Oct (Week 10): Privacy

26nd Oct (Week 11): Network Security

2nd Nov (Week 12): Visual & Quantum Cryptography

5th Nov (Week 13): Current Issues & Trends   10.00am - 12.00nn @ LT33   Note: make-up class for November 9th

23rd Nov 7.30pm: Final Examination

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Frequently Asked Questions

Course FAQ

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