Modern Cryptology
Lecturer: Janno Siim (contact: janno.siim@ut.ee)
Teaching Assistant Urmas Luhaäär (contact: urmas.luhaaar@ut.ee)
Lecture: Wednesday 12:15 - 14:00 (room 2045)
Practice: Friday 12:15 - 14:00 (room 2045)
Description
The course is roughly divided into two halves:
1. Basics of cryptography: Fundamental principles of modern cryptology, provable security, symmetric and asymmetric encryption, and digital signatures.
2. Advanced topics: The second half of the course gives a small taste of more advanced topics in contemporary cryptography. It may include topics such as post-quantum security, lattices, zero-knowledge proofs, secure multiparty computation, blockchain, and e-voting. The exact topics may vary from year to year (taking into account students' interests).
The first half of the course partially overlaps with the bachelor's course Cryptography (LTAT.04.020, given in Estonian), but moves at a faster pace. Students are not expected to have prior knowledge of cryptography. This course is meant as the first stepping stone for other, more advanced cryptography courses offered at the University of Tartu.
Necessary prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisite courses. The student should know the very basics of algebra, probability theory, and algorithmic analysis (e.g., asymptotics).
Grading
The final grade will be made up of points earned from homeworks (50%) and the final exam (50%). Additionally, bonus points will be awarded for practice session attendance and for completing occasional extra tasks.