CSCI 391 Practical Cryptology

Course Information

Lectures:

MWF 11:00 - 11:50 AM
Place: Freedom Hall 303

Office Hours:

Place: Freedom Hall 313
Time:
• Monday: 12:00 - 1:00 PM
• Tuesday: 12:00 - 1:00 PM (by appointment)
• Wednesday: 12:00 - 1:00 PM, 3:50 - 4:20 PM
• Thursday: 12:00 - 1:00 PM
• Friday: 9:20 - 9:50 AM, 1:00 - 3:00 PM
• M, W, F : 9:20 - 9:50 - By appointment ONLY
To make an appointment, please, send an e-mail to ykortsarts@mail.widener.edu

OPTIONAL Text (not required):

• Introduction to Cryptography with Coding Theory (2nd Edition)
• Wade Trappe (Author), Lawrence C. Washington (Author)
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (July 25, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 0131862391
• ISBN-13: 978-0131862395

Course Description

Cryptology is about making and breaking codes. Cryptology combines cryptography, the study of the methods of encryption, decryption and their use in communications protocols and cryptanalysis, the science of ``breaking'' secret codes, that is, learning how to understand the coded messages without being privy to the method of encoding them. The course covers the historical development of cryptographic methods and cryptanalysis tools. Before modern cryptographic algorithms are discussed in detail, an overview of the classical encryption algorithms is given. Both symmetric (private key) and asymmetric (public key) encryption schemes are presented and analyzed. The course also focuses on methods and algorithms for data integrity and authenticity. Course discusses how encryption algorithms can be used to protect the secrecy of information, build confidence in the identity of remote individuals and in the correctness of data. The study of cryptography requires a mathematical knowledge. We will learn the mathematical background as current topic requires it.

Tentative Course Topics

• Symmetric Ciphers: Substitution Monoalphabetic Ciphers - Caesar, Shift and Affine Ciphers
• Symmetric Polyalphabetic Ciphers: Vigenere Cipher
• Symmetric Block Cipher: Hill Cipher
• Public Key Cryptology: RSA and Knapsack Cryptosystems
• Data Encryption Standard (DES)

Course Goals and Objectives

The objective of this course is to explore theoretical and practical aspects of cryptology. The course will discuss the following ciphers: Symmetric Ciphers including Monoalphabetic and Polyalphabetic Substitution Ciphers, Block Ciphers, Data Encryption Standard (DES), Public Key Cryptography algorithms including RSA and Merkle-Hellman Knapsack Cryptosystems. At the end of this course students should:
• Have a knowledge of classical cryptosystems and the cryptanalysis techniques used to break them
• Understand the concept of Public Key or Assymetric Cryptography
• Encrypt and decrypt messages using both symmetric and public key ciphers
• Understand the ethical issues involved in cryptology from historical and practical perspectives
• Gain practical experience designing computational implementations of various symmetric and public key ciphers

Attendance Policy

The University's policy will be applied. Students who miss class are always responsible for obtaining class assignments. All assignments and class materials are available through this website.

In this course ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Class Participation and Attendance is 25% of the final grade.

Academic Fraud

The Science Division strictly enforces the University's policy on cheating and other forms of academic fraud.

Student Academic Grievance Procedure

If a student has a grievance concerning a class in which he/she is enrolled, he/she will first try to resolve the problem with the instructor of the class. If it is impossible to resolve the matter at this level, then the grievance must be placed in writing and appealed in the following order:
• Division or Program Head
• Dean of Arts and Sciences (Arts and Sciences Academic Council)
• Provost of the University
• University Academic Council
All student grievances will first be referred to the class instructor before they are treated at the level of the Division Head.

For Standards for Academic Integrity, Appeal Procedures for Student Academic Grievances, and Attendance Policy please see Student Handbook and Widener's Undergraduate Catalog:

Student Handbook
Widener's Undergraduate Catalog

Electronic Devices in the Classroom

• NO CELL PHONES. Cell phones must be turned off for the duration of the lecture and lab.
• All electronic devices except cell phones are permitted

Evaluation Criteria (Grading)

For individual assignments, the work handed in must be the student's own work.
Assignments which are written in groups are easily identifies and will receive grades of 0 for all participants.
For team projects: equal participation of all team members is required.

Most of the Assignments and Labs will require programming. In this course you would be able to use C, Java or Python programming languages in the UNIX/LINUX or Windows environment.

In most cases, you will demonstrate the running of your program in class and send a source file by e-mail. The grade for all programming assignments and labs will consist of the following:

• Correctness of the programming solution and in class demonstration (90%)
• Programming style, code appearance, and efficiency of the code (10%)

Good programming style includes well written comments, indentation, meaningful variable and function names, output expalanation, and more. See links below for more details.

• The Elements of Programming Style, by Brian W. Kernighan and P. J. Plauger from Wikipedia
• J. Plauger selected quotes from The Elements of Programming Style
• Programming Style from Wikipedia

Important

• Programming assignments must be done individually.
• The demonstration of the programming solution and the correctness check will be done in class.
• If you missed the due day class you have to demonstrate the correctness of the program during the course office hours within ONE week of the due day to be qualified for the full credit.
• If you fail to demonstrate the correctness of the program within ONE week of the due day, each late day will result in reduction of the full credit by 25 points.

The final grade will consist of the following:

Final Grade

Quizzes/Exams	35%
In Class Labs/In Class Assignments	40%
Attendance, Homework, Class Participation	25%
Total	100%

Final Grade Table

A:	95 - 100
A-:	90 - 94
B+:	87 - 89
B:	83 - 86
B-:	80 - 82
C+:	77 - 79
C:	73 - 76
C-:	70 - 72
D+:	67 - 69
D:	60 - 66
F:	59 - 0

For Graded Labs, Exams, and Quizzes Information see link below

Course and Reading Material, Lecture Activities, Homework and Labs

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All information in this document is subject to change throughout the semester. Check the course website and your Campus Cruiser e-mail regularly, any changes will be indicated on the course website and sent by e-mail. Students will be notified about any change at least one week in advance.