Module: Cryptography & Security Protocols

Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title	Cryptography & Security Protocols
Module Code	CA4005 (ITS) / CSC1100 (Banner)
Faculty	Engineering & Computing	School	Computing
Module Co-ordinator	Geoffrey Hamilton
Module Teachers	-
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	7.5
Pre-requisite	Not Available
Co-requisite	Not Available
Compatibles	Not Available
Incompatibles	Not Available

None

Description

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.

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe historial ciphers and identify their weaknesses.
2. Define and contrast contemporary symmetric cryptographic techniques and show their applications.
3. Solve elementary problems in number theory relating to cryptography.
4. Explain hash functions, specify their desirable properties and illustrate their applications.
5. Define and contrast contemporary public-key cryptographic techniques and show their applications.
6. Describe and analyse security protocols for applications such as authentication and key-exchange, e-mail and wireless communication.
7. Describe the fundamental concepts underpinning security protocols, key management and public key infrastructures.
8. Explain the basic threat models that need to be countered in secure systems, and describe how cryptography can help.
9. Identify the techniques available for meeting security objectives in the context of the modern world.
10. Integrate cryptographic code into software projects.
11. Design and write software to implement security protocols.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	36	Lectures
Assignment Completion	52	Programming projects
Independent Study	99.5	Self-directed study
Total Workload: 187.5

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Historical Ciphers
Shift cipher. Substitution cipher. Vigenere cipher. The one-time pad. Mechanical rotor systems.

Symmetric Cryptography
Stream ciphers. Block ciphers. The Data Encryption Standard (DES) and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Modes of operation.

Elementary Number Theory
Modular arithmetic. Groups, rings and fields. Fast algorithms for calculating multiplicative inverses and modular exponentiation. Quadratic residues and modular square roots. Primality testing.

Hash Functions
Desirable properties. Collisions. Merkle-Damgard construction. Applications of hash functions. Manipulation Detection Codes (MDCs) and Message Authentication Codes (MACs).

Public Key Cryptography
The key distribution problem. Diffie-Hellman key exchange. Public key infrastructures. The RSA method. El Gamal and Rabin. The DSA digital signature.

Hard Problems
One way functions. Hard problems including the integer factorisation problem and the discrete logarithm problem. Reductions.

Random Number Generation
Cryptographically secure random numbers and their generation. Using one-way hash functions. Linear congrentual generator. Blum Blum Shub generator.

Security Objectives
Confidentiality, integrity, authentication and non-repudiation.

Security Protocols
Authentication and key-exchange protocols. Nonces and timestamps. Secure email. S/MIME. Secure wireless protocols; WEP and WPA. Attacks on protocols.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	30%	Examination Weight	70%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown
Assignment	Implementation of cryptographic algorithm.	15%	Week 6
Assignment	Implementation of security protocol.	15%	Week 12

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories: Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module. Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module. Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot, Scott A. Vanstone: 1997, Handbook of Applied Cryptography, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 0-8493-8523-7
Nigel Smart: 2013, Cryptography: An Introduction, 3, McGraw-Hill, 0-077-09987-7

Other Resources

None