CSSE/MA479 – Cryptography

Spring 2008-2009

Schedule Overview

Homework is due at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted. Please note that future homework assignments are tentative based on previous course offerings. We may change assigned homework at any time before it is assigned. Schedule subject to change.

Schedule last updated Thu May 7.

Session quick links:  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Week Session Topics Reading Homework Projects
1

1

Mon Mar 9

Details
  • Introduction to cryptography
  • Shift ciphers
  • Chapter 1, 2.1
 
1

2

Tue Mar 10

Details
  • Shift and affine ciphers
  • 2.2
 
1

3

Thu Mar 12

Details
  • Vigenere ciphers
  • 2.3
 
1

4

Fri Mar 13

Details
  • HW1 due at the beginning of class.
  • Hill ciphers
  • 2.8 - 2.12
 
2

5

Mon Mar 16

Details
  • One-time pads
  • Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR) sequences
  • 2.7
 
2

6

Tue Mar 17

Details
  • Wrap-up work on classical cryptosystems.
  • Euclidean algorithm with extension to solving ax + by = d
  • 2.4 - 2.6, (2.6 optional), 3.1 - 3.2
 
2

7

Thu Mar 19

Details
  • Solving congruences
  • Chinese remainder theorem
  • 3.3 - 3.4
 
2

8

Fri Mar 20

Details
  • HW 2 due at beginning of class
  • Matrix inverses mod n
  • 3.8
 
3

9

Mon Mar 23

Details
  • Fermat's little theorem
  • Euler's Theorem
  • Three-pass protocol
  • 3.5 - 3.6
 
3

10

Tue Mar 24

Details
  • Written quiz on chapters 1-2.
  • 3.7, 3.9-3.10 (at your own pace; not needed for homeworks 3 or 4)
 
3

11

Thu Mar 26

Details
  • Simple DES (EDEN) -- concepts
  • 4.1 - 4.2
 
3

12

Fri Mar 27

Details
  • Practical quiz on ch 2
  • None
 
4

13

Mon Mar 30

Details
  • DES differential cryptanalysis
  • 4.3
 
4

14

Tue Mar 31

Details
  • Breaking DES
  • Homework 3 due
  • 4.6 - 4.7
 
4

15

Thu Apr 2

Details
  • Fields
  • 4.5, 3.11
 
4

16

Fri Apr 3

Details
  • Class cancelled
  • Review past readings as needed.
 
5

17

Mon Apr 6

Details
  • Implementing GF(2^8) in hardware
  • Rijndael (AES)
  • Skim Chapter 5
 
5

18

Tue Apr 7

Details
  • Finish Rijndael
  • Introduction to RSA
  • 6.1
 
5

19

Thu Apr 9

Details
  • Homework 4 (DES) due midnight
  • RSA practical issues and attacks
  • Did Homework 5 in class
  • 6.2
 
5

20

Fri Apr 10

Details
  • Written quiz on chapter 3, including finite fields
  • None
 
6

21

Mon Apr 20

Details
  • Primality testing
  • 6.3
 
6

22

Tue Apr 21

Details
  • Factoring
  • Homework 5 due today
  • 6.4
 
6

23

Thu Apr 23

Details
  • Quadratic Sieve
  • 6.5 - 6.7, 7.1
 
6

24

Fri Apr 24

Details
  • Computing discrete logs
  • 7.2
 
7

25

Mon Apr 27

Details
  • Diffie-Hellman and ElGamal
  • 7.3 - 7.4
 
7

26

Tue Apr 28

Details
  • Homework 6 due today
  • Hash functions
  • 8.1 - 8.2
 
7

27

Thu Apr 30

Details
  • SHA-1
  • 8.3
 
7

28

Fri May 1

Details
  • Class cancelled
  • Review past readings as needed.
 
8

29

Mon May 4

Details
  • Birthday Attacks and multicollisions
  • 8.4 - 8.5
 
8

30

Tue May 5

Details
  • Digital signatures
  • Homework 7 due today
  • 9.1 - 9.2
 
8

31

Thu May 7

Details
  • Digital signatures and birthday attacks on them
  • 9.3 - 9.5
 
8

32

Fri May 8

Details
  • DSA, Digital cash
  • Chapter 11
 
9

33

Mon May 11

Details
  • Digital cash
  • Chapter 11
 
9

34

Tue May 12

Details
  • Quiz, Chapters 6-9 (tentative)
  • Rubrics for presentation
 
9

35

Thu May 14

Details
  • Team presentations
  • Elliptic curves
  • MD5 Vulnerabilities
   
9

36

Fri May 15

Details
  • Project workday
  • Available in Moench F203 for help
   
10

37

Mon May 18

Details
  • Team presentations
  • PGP
  • Be sure to complete course evals
   
10

38

Tue May 19

Details
  • Team presentations
  • Secret Sharing
  • Visual Cryptography
   
10

39

Thu May 21

Details
  • Team presentations
  • Parallel Attacks on Cryptographic Algorithms
  • Hardware-based Encryption
   
10

40

Fri May 22

Details
  • Team project papers due today (Friday)
  • Team presentations
  • Solitaire Cipher
  • TwoFish