Instructor: Igor Pak
pak@umn, 5-3855
Class schedule: TuTh 2:30 - 3:55, VinH 113
Office Hours: MW 2-3:30, room VinH 258
Grader: TBA
Textbook: Lecture notes are available from Alpha Print
Additional reading will be handed out in class if necessary.
Grading: Homeworks: 30%, Two Midterms 20%, Final 30%
Difficulty: This is an introductory course in cryptology, that is, the subject of how to make ciphers (cryptography) and break them (cryptanalysis). The math used is heavy on modular arithmetic, which will be covered in some depth. It also makes some use of elementary counting and probability, plus a tiny bit of linear algebra and matrices. It is not intended as a substitute for a serious abstract algebra or number theory course.
Other expectations This is a 4-credit course, so I would guess that the average student should spend about 8 hours per week outside of class to get a decent grade. Part of this time each week would be well-spent making a first pass through the material in the book that we anticipate to cover in class that week, so that you can bring your questions/confusions to class and ask about them.
Other introductory textbooks (where further examples can be found)
Johannes Buchmann, "Introduction to Cryptography", Springer
Richard A. Mollin, "An Introduction to Cryptography", CRC Press
Douglas Robert Stinson, "Cryptography: Theory And Practice", CRC Press
Wade Trappe, Lawrence C. Washington, "Introduction to Cryptography:
With Coding Theory", Pearson Prentice Hall
Homework 1. Download .pdf file.
Homework 2. Download .pdf file.
Homework 3. Download .pdf file. See Luhn algorithm Wikipedia article. See also .pdf file of the patent.
Homework 4. Download .pdf file.
Here is the answer to one of
the midterm problems.
Here is where the "A snapshot in the family album"
sentence came from.
More on RSA.
More on Crypto.
Homework 5. Download .pdf file.
Homework 6. Download .pdf file.
Homework 7. Download .pdf file. Read this and this Wikipedia articles.
Midterm 1. Download .pdf file.
Midterm 2. Download .pdf file.
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Last updated 9/4/2007