Cryptography and Security Protocols

The purpose of this module is to introduce the student to some of the latest ideas, algorithms and protocols from modern cryptology and secure communications, and to equip the student to apply this theory to the problems of building secure computer applications, and securing communications in the context of the internet and e-commerce. Modern symmetric cryptography techniques, hash functions and their applications are covered. Then, based on the students prior experience of elementary arithmetic, the basics of number theory are taught, as needed to fully understand the main algorithms for public-key cryptography, including Diffie-Helman, the RSA method and El Gamal. Applications of public-key cryptography including encryption and digital signatures are also covered. Based on this introduction to cryptology, the student is introduced to the basic concepts of security protocols and their implementation. Simple protocols for key exchange and authentication, leading on to more involved protocols for implementing secure e-mail, S/MIME and secure wireless communications.