Cryptography: A Hands-on Approach

Secret-key encryption, one-way hash, public-key cryptography, digital signature, PKI, TLS, cryptocurrency and blockchain

Created by: Wenliang Du
Professor at Syracuse University, ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow

What Will I Learn?

• Study the basic principles of cryptography, including secret-key encryption, one-way hash function, and public-key cryptography
• Study various crypto applications, including authentication, digital signature, HTTPS, credit card, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, etc.
• Study the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and the TLS protocol, which are essential for securing communication on the Internet
• Understand the risks faced by various crypto algorithms and protocols, and how these risks can be mitigated
• Understand the common mistakes in the use of crypto
• Gain hands-on experiences through 8 crypto labs (SEED Labs) developed by the instructor

Requirements

• No programming background is needed, but to work on the hands-on labs, some basic Python programming background is needed

Target audience

• Undergraduate and graduate students studying cybersecurity
• Anyone who is interested in learning the cryptography basics, especially the applied aspects of crypto
• Anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of how various crypto-based systems work
• Anyone who is interested in learning how blockchain and cryptocurrencies work