This module provides an introduction into cryptography and cryptographic protocols focussing on theoretical understanding and practical use of cryptography and cryptographic mechanisms for building secure systems. It aims to develop knowledge and understanding of fundamental principles of information security, the security guarantees of cryptographic primitives, attacks and countermeasures against cryptosystems and provide practical experience of implementing secure systems using cryptographic libraries. The module requires a solid understanding of mathematical concepts (e.g., modulo-arithmetic, discrete mathematics, probability binary operations), introduces fundamental mathematical concepts needed to understand cryptographic primitives (e.g., group theory and basic complexity theory) and requires a solid understanding of some programming language (e.g., Python, Java or C, but solutions will be given in Python). 

• Blackboard quiz, written assignment and formal examination  

• Blackboard
• Unconfirmed practical marks when available
• Exam Papers, past 2 years (where applicable)

• To develop knowledge and understanding of fundamental principles of cryptography.
• To develop mathematical background necessary to implement and understand modern cryptographic primitives.
• To develop practical experience of using secure systems.  

• Identify and evaluate the security of cryptographic protocols and algorithms, identifying vulnerabilities and potential threats in various applications. 
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of foundational cryptographic concepts, vulnerabilities and risks to computer systems. 
• Describe fundamental cryptographic primitives and protocols, explain what they achieve and what security and contextual properties they must have. 
• Analyse and assess the use of cryptographic primitives within security settings, identifying architecture, resources constraints and suggesting appropriate use of cryptography for particular application contexts. 

Lectures will cover:

• Introduction to Modern Cryptography
• One-Time Pads and Perfect Security
• Symmetric Encryption and Block Ciphers (AES)
• Modes of Operation for Block Ciphers (CTR, CBC, GCM)
• Hash Functions
• Message Authentication Codes
• Number Theory and Cryptography
• Public Key Encryption, RSA and Diffie-Hellman
• Digital Signature Schemes
• Zero-Knowledge Proofs
• Secure Channels and Transport Layer Security