CS 435: Introduction to Cryptography (Fall 2014) Home page [Home] [Detailed course document] [Notes] [Assignments] [Useful links] [Messages]

Instructor
Somesh Jha,
7385 Computer Sciences Building
email: jha@cs.wisc.edu
Office hours for Somesh Jha: Friday (3-4pm)

TA
Rahul Chatterjee,
7355 Computer Sciences Building
email: rchat@cs.wisc.edu
Office hours for Rahul: Wed (4-5:30pm)

Calvin Smith,
1302 Computer Sciences Building
email: cjsmith@cs.wisc.edu
Office hours for Calvin: Mon (4-5:30 pm)

Time and place
Tu and Th, 9:30-10:45am, 2080 Grainger Hall

Audience
This is an introductory course on cryptography.

This course serves as an undergraduate introduction to cryptography. The aim is to understand the theoretical foundations for cryptosystems used in the real world. This course is cross-listed with the mathematics department, so it will have a significant mathematical component. No advanced mathematics background is assumed, but students are expected to possess "mathematical maturity" since many of the concepts will be abstract, rigorous definitions and proofs will be given, and we will cover some advanced mathematics (group theory, number theory) in class. Some background in discrete mathematics (probability theory, modular arithmetic) and algorithms will be helpful, but all necessary prerequisites will be reviewed in class. This class will be very similar to the class taught by Prof. Jonathan Katz at the University of Maryland (see the link at here).

Material
Required text:

Jonathan Katz and Yehuda Lindell Introduction to Modern Cryptography, August 2007 by Chapman & Hall/CRC Press.

Prerequisites
Math 320 or 340 or consent of the instructor.

Evaluation
Assignments and exams. See course document for details.