Cryptographic Protocols

Catalog description

The course is an introduction to advanced cryptographic protocols that go beyond encrypting and authenticating communication. The course will cover two main topics: ●Secure Multiparty Computation protocols which allow many parties to compute a function of privately held inputs. ●Zero-knowledge Proofs which allow a party to convince a peer that a certain mathematical statement is true, or a certain computation is correct, without revealing the proof. The course is theoretical in nature and will focus on the mathematical foundations of the above protocols. The course will also describe how this theory informs the design and deployment of real-life cryptographic protocols used in practice. Students are expected to have knowledge of probability theory, algorithms and complexity theory, at the level which is normally covered in any undergraduate degree in Computer Science. Although no prior knowledge of cryptography is strictly needed for this course, familiarity with the concepts of encryptions and authentication will help. Department Consent Required.