IERG4150/ESTR4322 Introduction to Cryptography (Fall 2021)

Instructor: Sherman S. M. Chow
Teaching Assistants (@ie.cuhk.edu.hk):
- DU, Minxin, SHB726, dm018
- MUI, Hong Yin (William), SHB726, mhy020
Time and Venue:
- 4:30-5:15pm Wednesday, Y.C. Liang Hall (LHC) 103
- 1:30-3:15pm Friday, Y.C. Liang Hall (LHC) 104
e-Venue:
- Zoom (Meeting ID: 925 8661 2773)
- Password: [ad][ab][cd], where [ab]*[cd] = course code, and [ab] < [cd]
In-Class Mid-Term Exam (Scope: Chapter 0 - 8):
- 1:30-3:15pm Friday, (NOT ~~LHC 104~~) William M. W. Wong Engineering Bldg. (ERB) 407, Nov 5
Tutorial Session:
- 3:30-4:15pm Wednesday, William M. W. Wong Engineering Bldg. (ERB) 713, Oct 13 --
- ~~2:30-3:15pm Wednesday, Y.C. Liang Hall (LHC) 101, Sep 29 -- Oct 6~~
- [for revision, optional but recommended]
- (Pre-recorded Tutorials 1 and 2 are on Blackboard.)
Textbook [Required, but free]: The Joy of Cryptography (by Mike Rosulek)

Cryptography is essential in many cyber security goals and many application domains. This course introduces students with a foundation of theory of cryptography and its application, including introductions to number theory, symmetric-key cryptography, public-key cryptography, and a brief overview of the research advances.

"Prerequisites": basic modular arithmetic, discrete probabilities, simple combinatorics, familiarity with logics, proofs, and the concept of algorithm's time complexity
Class composition: BEng(Fintech), BEng(IE), BSc(MIE), BSc(CS), MSc(IE), Exchange
Students who have taken IERG4130, or other ECLT, IEMS courses on cryptography can also take this class.

Tentative Workload:

3 Assignments [check Blackboard] (40%)
Mid-Term Exam x 1 [Scope: Chapter 0 - 8] (20%)
Final Exam x 1 [Scope: Chapter 0 - 11, 13 - 15] (40%)
Piazza Participation (additional tiny bonus for the top 4 contributed most)

Tentative Schedule: (slides are now on Blackboard)

8, 10/9: Cryptography as a Scientific Discipline, One-Time Pad
[Slides: 0, 1a: intro, 1b: OTP]
[Reading: Preface (except Code-Based Games Philosophy), 0, 1]
15, 17/9: The Basics of Provable Security, Secret Sharing (brief intro.)
[Slides 15/9: 2 (1-18)] [Reading 15/9: 2.1-2.2]
[Slides 17/9: 2 (19-30), 2-otp-proof.pdf] [Reading 17/9: 2.3-2.5, 0.2, 13.1]
[Assignment 1 released]
24, 29/9^*: Secret Sharing (cont.) [Reading 24/9: 3]
Basing Cryptography on Intractable Computations [Reading 29/9: 4]
[Assignment 1 due]
6/10: Basing Cryptography on Intractable Computations (cont.)
8/10: [Black rainstorm, class suspended]
13/10: [Typhoon Signal #8, class suspended]
15/10: Pseudorandom Generators [Reading: 5.1-5.6]
[Assignment 2 released]
20/10: Pseudorandom Functions
22/10: Chosen Plaintext Attacks, Mode of Operations
27/10: Mode of Operations (the end of mid-term exam's scope)
29/10: Chosen Ciphertext Attacks
[Assignment 2 due (hard deadline, 3/11 tutorial discusses its solution)]
3, 5/11: Special Topic (Not in Exam Scope), Mid-Term (Scope: Chapter 0 - 8)
10, 12/11: Message Authentication Codes and Hash Functions
17/11: Hash Functions (cont.)
19/11: RSA & Digital Signatures [Reading: 0]
24/11: RSA (CRT)
26/11: Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement
1/12: Public-Key Encryption
3/12: Revision
^{*22/9, 1/10 are holidays}

Standard Stuff: