MAT5123

MAT 5123. Introduction to Cryptography. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours.

Prerequisite: MAT 4213. Congruences and residue class rings, Fermat’s Little Theorem, the Euler phi-function, the Chinese Remainder Theorem, complexity, symmetric-key cryptosystems, cyclic groups, primitive roots, discrete logarithms, one-way functions, public-key cryptosystems, digital signatures, finite fields, and elliptic curves. Differential Tuition: $150. Course Fees: GS01 $90.

Textbook: J. Hoffstein, J. Pipher, J. H. Silverman, An Introduction to Mathematical Cryptography (2nd Ed.) Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series, Springer-Verlag (2014). ISBN: 978-1-4939-1711-2.

Week	Sections	Topics	Student Learning Outcomes
1	1.2 & 1.3	Substitution ciphers and basic theory of divisibility.	Caesar’s and more general substitution ciphers. Greatest common divisor. The extended Euclidean algorithm.
2	1.4, 1.5.	Modular arithmetic and finite fields.	Primes and integer factorizations. The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. Modular arithmetic and shift ciphers. Modular rings and finite fields 𝔽ₚ. Powers and primitive roots in finite fields. Fast exponentiation.
3	1.7, 2.1–2.3.	Public and private-key cryptosystems. Cyclic groups. Discrete Logarithms. Diffie-Hellman key exchange.	Symmetric and asymmetric ciphers. Encoding schemes. Perfect secrecy. Vernon’s cipher. Examples of symmetric ciphers. Discrete Logarithms. The Diffie-Hellman key exchange.
4	2.4, 2.5. 2.6, 2.7.	Elgamal public-key cryptosystem. Cyclic groups. Collision algorithms.	Theory of finite cyclic groups. The Discrete Logarithm Problem (DLP). Shanks’ Babystep-Giantstep DLP algorithm.
5	2.8, 2.9, 2.10	Rudiments of ring theory. The Chinese Remainder Theorem. The Pohlig-Hellman Algorithm.	Rings. Polynomial rings. Quotient rings. Systems of congruences. The Chinese Remainder Theorem. The Pohlig-Hellman Algorithm.
6	None	Review. First midterm exam.
7	3.1, 3.2, 3.3.	Modular groups of units. The RSA cryptosystem. Practical considerations of security in implementation.	Modular groups 𝑈ₙ. Powers and roots modulo 𝒑𝒒. The Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) cryptosystem. Implementation and security issues of cryptosystems: Kerchoff's Principle, Known- and Chosen-Plaintext attacks, Man-in-the-Middle attacks, obfuscation (Random-Oracle) attacks, parameter reuse.
8	3.4, 3.5.	Primality testing and factorization attacks on RSA.	Distribution of primes. The Prime Number Theorem. Fermat's Little Theorem and Carmichael numbers. The Miller-Rabin probabilistic primality test. Pollard's “𝒑-1” factorization algorithm.
9	4.1, 4.2, 4.3	Digital Signatures.	Definition and uses of digital signatures. RSA digital signatures. Elgamal digital signatures and DSA.
10	7.1 & 7.2	Cauchy's Integral Formula. Taylor series.	Statement and proof of Cauchy's Integral Formula. Existence, uniqueness, and general theory of Taylor series of holomorphic functions. Rigorous definition of and proof that complex logarithms are holomorphic.
11	None	Review. Second midterm exam.
12	8.1–8.3	Isolated singularities and Laurent series. The Residue Theorem.	Definition of Laurent series about an isolated singularity. Examples. Types of isolated singularities: Removable, polar, essential. The Cassorati-Weierstrass Theorem. Statement and proof of the Residue Theorem. Elementary techniques to evaluate residues.
13	Chapter 9.	Calculus of residues.	Evaluation of integrals of real analytic functions using residues. Evaluation of series of real analytic functions using residues.
14	11.1–11.3	Conformal mappings.	Preservation of angles and conformal mappings of the plane. Conformal mappings yield pairs of conjugate harmonic functions. Dirichlet's Problem on a planar region. The Riemann Mapping Theorem. Möbius transformations and their use in solving elementary Dirichlet Problems.
15	Chapter 10. (At instructor's discretion, week 15 may be used to wrap-up and review instead.)	Complex integration and geometric properties of holomorphic functions	Rouché's Theorem. The Open Mapping Theorem. Winding numbers.