CS4288 Cryptographic Algorithms and Protocols

Part I

Course Duration: One Semester

Credit Units: 3

Level: B4

Medium of Instruction: English

Pre-requisites:
MA2144 Discrete Mathematics or
MA2504 Discrete Mathematics or equivalent
And
CS2302 Data Structures and Algorithms or
CS2468 Data Structures and Data Management or
CS3334 Data Structures or equivalent

Pre-cursors:
CS3201 Computer Networks or
CS3270 Fundamentals of Computer Networks and the Internet or equivalent

Equivalent Courses: Nil

Exclusive Courses: Nil

Part II

1.     Course Aims:

The course aims to provide an introduction to cryptographic techniques.  The main objective is to for students to learn and understand basic algorithms for symmetric and asymmetric cryptography and their mathematical principles, as well as their applications to fundamental security protocols.  A particular emphasize is put on improving their abilities to follow up advancement of cryptographic techniques and security protocols in the future.

2.      Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
(state what the student is expected to be able to do at the end of the course according to a given standard of performance)

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
 

No.	CILOs	Weighting(if applicable)
1.	apply modular arithmetic mathematic and basic group theoretic/finite field operations related to cryptographic techniques;
2.	understand basic concepts and algorithms of cryptography, including encryption/decryption, hash functions, pseudo random number generation;
3.	make critique and assessment on the security of cryptographic functions, and evaluate their strength;
4.	create and analyze protocols for various security objectives with cryptographic tools;
5.	develop an ability to explore and analyse the impact of potential future development of cryptography such as quantum cryptography.

3.      Teaching and learning Activities (TLAs):
(designed to facilitate students’ achievement of the CILOs)

Teaching pattern:
Suggested lecture/laboratory mix:  2 hrs. lecture; 1 hr. tutorial.
 

CILO No	Lecture	Tutorial	Hours/week (if applicable)
CILO 1	✓	✓
CILO 2	✓	✓
CILO 3		✓
CILO 4		✓
CILO 5	✓

 
4.      Assessment Tasks/Activities:
(designed to assess how well the students achieve the CILOs)
 

ILO No	Type of assessment tasks/activities	Weighting (if applicable)	Remarks
CILO 1	Related coursework and final examination questions will be given to let the students apply modular arithmetic mathematic and basic group theoretic/finite field operations.	30%
CILO 2	Related questions will be given in coursework and final examination for evaluating students’ understanding of basic concepts and algorithms of cryptography, including encryption/decryption, hash functions, pseudo random number generation.	30%
CILO 3	Related questions will be given in coursework and final examination for evaluating students on measuring the strength of cryptographic protocols, and discovering their security vulnerabilities.	20%
CILO 4	Specific coursework and final examination questions will be made up for assessing students’ proficiency on devising and applying cryptographic techniques and security mechanisms to solving particular security problems.	10%
CILO 5	Related coursework and final examination questions will be given to let the students explore potential future development of cryptography.	10%

5.     Grading of Student Achievement:

Examination duration: 2 hours
Percentage of coursework, examination, etc.: 30% CW; 70% Exam
Grading pattern: Standard (A+AA-…F)
For a student to pass the course, at least 30% of the maximum mark for the examination must be obtained.

Part III

Keyword Syllabus: 

Basic number theory, one-way functions, basic randomness, symmetric encryption, one-tine Pad, Feistel structure, DES, IDEA, AES, brute force attacks, strength of encryption functions, block and stream cipher, key distribution problem, secret sharing, asymmetric encryption, RSA, prime number generation, public key protocol, hybrid encryption, key exchange protocol, Diffie-Hellman, authentication protocols, hash functions, MD5, SHA, data integrity, message integrity code, non-repudiation, digital signature, RSA signature, ElGamal,  DSA, elliptic curve cryptosystem, trust model, digital certificate, PKI, zero knowledge proofs, blind signature, quantum cryptography.