Cryptography

What you'll learn

The key areas this subject covers, mapped to the official curriculum.

• Classical and historical ciphers
• Symmetric-key cryptography
• Public-key cryptography (RSA, DH)
• Hash functions and digital signatures
• Security protocols

Course units

The structured path through this subject.

1. 1

   Introduction and Classical Ciphers

   Security goals, the structure of a cryptosystem, and the historical ciphers - substitution and transposition - that reveal the core ideas before modern mathematics took over.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

2. 2

   Symmetric Ciphers

   Block and stream ciphers, the DES and AES standards, modes of operation, and how symmetric keys are distributed securely.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

3. 3

   Asymmetric Ciphers

   The mathematics behind public key cryptography: modular arithmetic, RSA, Diffie-Hellman key exchange and ElGamal encryption.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

4. 4

   Cryptographic Hash Functions and Digital Signatures

   One-way hash functions, the MD5 and SHA families, message authentication codes and HMAC, and digital signature schemes.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

5. 5

   Authentication

   Proving identity: authentication fundamentals, password and one-time password schemes, Kerberos and X.509 certificates.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

6. 6

   Network Security and Public Key Infrastructure

   Protecting traffic in motion: IPSec, TLS/SSL, email security with PGP and S/MIME, and the Public Key Infrastructure that binds keys to identities.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available

7. 7

   Malicious Logic

   The software that attacks systems: malware taxonomy, viruses, worms and Trojans, denial of service, and practical defenses.

   4 topics · 4 lessons available