Advanced Research in Cryptography

Courses

Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies

This course will introduce students to cryptocurrencies and the main underlying technology of blockchains. The course will start with the relevant background in cryptography and then proceed to cover the recent advances in the design and applications of blockchains. This course should primarily appeal to students who want to conduct research in this area or wish to build new applications on top of blockchains. It should also appeal to those who have a casual interest in this topic or are generally interested in cryptography. Students are expected to have mathematical maturity.

Computer Systems Fundamentals

We study the design and performance of a variety of computer systems from simple 8-bit micro-controllers through 32/64-bit RISC architectures all the way to ubiquitous x86 CISC architecture. We’ll start from logic gates and digital circuits before delving into arithmetic and logic units, registers, caches, memory, stacks and procedure calls, pipelined execution, super-scalar architectures, memory management units, etc. Along the way we’ll study several typical instruction set architectures and review concepts such as interrupts, hardware and software exceptions, serial and other peripheral communications protocols, etc. A number of programming projects, frequently done in assembly language and using various processor simulators, round out the course.

Practical Cryptographic Systems

This semester-long course will teach systems and cryptographic design principles by example: by studying and identifying flaws in widely-deployed cryptographic products and protocols. Our focus will be on the techniques used in practical security systems, the mistakes that lead to failure, and the approaches that might have avoided the problem. We will place a particular emphasis on the techniques of provable security and the feasibility of reverse-engineering undocumented cryptographic systems.

Advanced Topics in Cryptography

This course will focus on advanced cryptographic topics with an emphasis on open research problems and student presentations.

Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies

This course will introduce students to cryptocurrencies and the main underlying technology of Blockchains. The course will start with the relevant background in cryptography and then proceed to cover the recent advances in the design and applications of blockchains. This course should primarily appeal to students who want to conduct research in this area or wish to build new applications on top of blockchains. It should also appeal to those who have a casual interest in this topic or are generally interested in cryptography. Students are expected to have mathematical maturity.

Modern Cryptography

Modern Cryptography includes seemingly paradoxical notions such as communicating privately without a shared secret, proving things without leaking knowledge, and computing on encrypted data. In this challenging but rewarding course we will start from the basics of private and public key cryptography and go all the way up to advanced notions such as zero-knowledge proofs, functional encryption and program obfuscation. The class will focus on rigorous proofs and require mathematical maturity.

Advanced Topics in Secure and Censorship-Resistant Communications

Topics will vary from year to year, but will focus on applied cryptography and communications, focused on the development of secure and uncensorable communication mechanisms for communities at risk. This course will include topics such as: communication protocol design and analysis, blockchain-based protocols, anonymous communication, cryptographic backdoors, and other topics. Emphasis in this course is on understanding how cryptographic issues impact real systems, while maintaining an appreciation for grounding the work in fundamental science. The course will consist of in-class workshops and interactive discussions. There will be programming assignments and a course project with real world impact. Students will also be expected to read assigned papers and to present at least one research paper and lead a discussion on it.

Practical Cryptographic Systems

This semester-long course will teach systems and cryptographic design principles by example: by studying and identifying flaws in widely-deployed cryptographic products and protocols. Our focus will be on the techniques used in practical security systems, the mistakes that lead to failure, and the approaches that might have avoided the problem. We will place a particular emphasis on the techniques of provable security and the feasibility of reverse-engineering undocumented cryptographic systems.

Practical Cryptographic Systems

This semester-long course will teach systems and cryptographic design principles by example: by studying and identifying flaws in widely-deployed cryptographic products and protocols. Our focus will be on the techniques used in practical security systems, the mistakes that lead to failure, and the approaches that might have avoided the problem. We will place a particular emphasis on the techniques of provable security and the feasibility of reverse-engineering undocumented cryptographic systems.

Modern Cryptography

Modern Cryptography includes seemingly paradoxical notions such as communicating privately without a shared secret, proving things without leaking knowledge, and computing on encrypted data. In this challenging but rewarding course we will start from the basics of private and public key cryptography and go all the way up to advanced notions such as zero-knowledge proofs, functional encryption and program obfuscation. The class will focus on rigorous proofs and require mathematical maturity.

Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies

This course will introduce students to cryptocurrencies and the main underlying technology of Blockchains. The course will start with the relevant background in cryptography and then proceed to cover the recent advances in the design and applications of blockchains. This course should primarily appeal to students who want to conduct research in this area or wish to build new applications on top of blockchains. It should also appeal to those who have a casual interest in this topic or are generally interested in cryptography. Students are expected to have mathematical maturity.

Practical Cryptographic Systems

This semester-long course will teach systems and cryptographic design principles by example: by studying and identifying flaws in widely-deployed cryptographic products and protocols. Our focus will be on the techniques used in practical security systems, the mistakes that lead to failure, and the approaches that might have avoided the problem. We will place a particular emphasis on the techniques of provable security and the feasibility of reverse-engineering undocumented cryptographic systems.

Advanced Topics in Cryptography

This course will focus on advanced cryptographic topics with an emphasis on open research problems and student presentations.

Modern Cryptography

Modern Cryptography includes seemingly paradoxical notions such as communicating privately without a shared secret, proving things without leaking knowledge, and computing on encrypted data. In this challenging but rewarding course we will start from the basics of private and public key cryptography and go all the way up to advanced notions such as zero-knowledge proofs, functional encryption and program obfuscation. The class will focus on rigorous proofs and require mathematical maturity.

Selected Topics in Applied Cryptography

This course will focus on advanced cryptographic topics with an emphasis on open research problems and student presentations.

Advanced Topics in Applied Cryptography

This course will focus on advanced cryptographic topics with an emphasis on open research problems and student presentations.

Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies

This course will introduce students to cryptocurrencies and the main underlying technology of Blockchains. The course will start with the relevant background in cryptography and then proceed to cover the recent advances in the design and applications of blockchains. This course should primarily appeal to students who want to conduct research in this area or wish to build new applications on top of blockchains. It should also appeal to those who have a casual interest in this topic or are generally interested in cryptography. Students are expected to have mathematical maturity.

Practical Cryptographic Systems

This semester-long course will teach systems and cryptographic design principles by example: by studying and identifying flaws in widely-deployed cryptographic products and protocols. Our focus will be on the techniques used in practical security systems, the mistakes that lead to failure, and the approaches that might have avoided the problem. We will place a particular emphasis on the techniques of provable security and the feasibility of reverse-engineering undocumented cryptographic systems.

Modern Cryptography

Modern Cryptography includes seemingly paradoxical notions such as communicating privately without a shared secret, proving things without leaking knowledge, and computing on encrypted data. In this challenging but rewarding course we will start from the basics of private and public key cryptography and go all the way up to advanced notions such as zero-knowledge proofs, functional encryption and program obfuscation. The class will focus on rigorous proofs and require mathematical maturity.

Selected Topics in Applied Cryptography

This course will focus on advanced cryptographic topics with an emphasis on open research problems and student presentations.

Advanced Topics in Applied Cryptography

This course will focus on advanced cryptographic topics with an emphasis on open research problems and student presentations.

Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies

This course will introduce students to cryptocurrencies and the main underlying technology of Blockchains. The course will start with the relevant background in cryptography and then proceed to cover the recent advances in the design and applications of blockchains. This course should primarily appeal to students who want to conduct research in this area or wish to build new applications on top of blockchains. It should also appeal to those who have a casual interest in this topic or are generally interested in cryptography. Students are expected to have mathematical maturity.

Practical Cryptographic Systems

This semester-long course will teach systems and cryptographic design principles by example: by studying and identifying flaws in widely-deployed cryptographic products and protocols. Our focus will be on the techniques used in practical security systems, the mistakes that lead to failure, and the approaches that might have avoided the problem. We will place a particular emphasis on the techniques of provable security and the feasibility of reverse-engineering undocumented cryptographic systems.

Modern Cryptography

Modern Cryptography includes seemingly paradoxical notions such as communicating privately without a shared secret, proving things without leaking knowledge, and computing on encrypted data. In this challenging but rewarding course we will start from the basics of private and public key cryptography and go all the way up to advanced notions such as zero-knowledge proofs, functional encryption and program obfuscation. The class will focus on rigorous proofs and require mathematical maturity.