Basic concepts of cryptography - SPECTRO

This introductory course provides foundational knowledge in cryptography, covering key generation, encryption, and decryption. It highlights the limitations of classical ciphers and introduces Kerckhoffs’s principles. Students explore core security concepts, including indistinguishability, perfect and computational security, and pseudorandomness. 

The course examines cryptographic primitives such as one-time pads, stream and block ciphers, along with their modes of operation. It also covers hash functions, message authentication codes (HMACs), and the principles of data authenticity and integrity. Finally, students are introduced to public key cryptography, with a focus on RSA for encryption and digital signatures. The course emphasizes both theoretical understanding and practical implications.

Course content

• A glimpse at classical cryptography
• Basic concepts of modern cryptography
• Computational security
• Pseudorandomness and attack types
• Stream and block ciphers
• Cryptographic hash functions
• Basic ideas of public key cryptography
   

About SPECTRO 

This course is delivered by SPECTRO. SPECTRO is a consortium consisting of 12 higher education institutions from 7 different countries, 2 innovative SMEs, and one leading research center in Information Systems and EIT Digital. SPECTRO is co-funded by the European Union’s Digital Europe Programme.