COMP547 Cryptography and Data Security

Winter 2015, Schedule: Tuesday-Thursday 13:00-14:30 ENGTR 1100


Instructor: Prof. Claude Crépeau

Office : Room 110N, McConnell Eng. Building
3480 University Street
phone: (514) 398-4716
email: crepeau@cs.mcgill.ca


T.A.: Javona White Bear

Office : Room 235, McConnell Eng. Building
3480 University Street
email: javona.whitebear@mail.mcgill.ca


Office Hours:
Claude : Wednesday 13h00-16h00, McConnell 110N.
Javona: TBA, McConnell 235.


Description: (4 credits, 3 hours). This course presents an in-depth study of modern cryptography and data security. We investigate four important subjects of cryptography: data encryption, message authentication, user identification and key distribution. The basic information theoretic and computational security of classical and modern cryptographic systems are analysed. The course is self-contained and all necessary mathematical background will be explicitely covered.


Objectives: Discover how Alice may send a secret message to Bob that nobody else can understand, how he may be certain that this message came from Alice, how she can prove him who she is with revealing anyhting about the proof (!) , and how they can exchange a secret key using dim pulses of laser light, etc.


Mandatory textbook: Introduction to Modern Cryptography, 2nd Edition, by Jonathan Katz and Yehuda Lindell. Chapman and Hall/CRC Press, Nov 2014 .


Evaluation: There will be 5 homework assigments worth 50% of your final grade and a final exam worth 50%. The homeworks will have some theoretical components worth 35% and applications using Maple worth 15%.


In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.


En vertue de la chartre des droits des étudiants de l'université McGill, les étudiants de ce cours ont le droit de soumettre leurs travaux écrits en anglais ou en français, à leur guise.


Academic integrity: McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more information).


Honnêteté académique: L'université McGill attache une grande importance à l'honnêteté académique. Il incombe par conséquent à tous les étudiants de comprendre ce que l'on entend par tricherie, plagiat et autres infractions académiques, ainsi que les conséquences que peuvent avoir de telles actions, selon le Code de conduite de l'étudiant et des procédures disciplinaires (pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez consulter le site www.mcgill.ca/integrity).


Course outline (Subject to small modifications):