New online class on Cryptography from Stanford, taught by Dan Boneh

[Eugen Leitl]

http://www.crypto-class.org/

About The Course

Cryptography is an indispensable tool for protecting information in computer
systems. This course explains the inner workings of cryptographic primitives
and how to correctly use them. Students will learn how to reason about the
security of cryptographic constructions and how to apply this knowledge to
real-world applications. The course begins with a detailed discussion of how
two parties who have a shared secret key can communicate securely when a
powerful adversary eavesdrops and tampers with traffic. We will examine many
deployed protocols and analyze mistakes in existing systems. The second half
of the course discusses public-key techniques that let two or more parties
generate a shared secret key. We will cover the relevant number theory and
discuss public-key encryption, digital signatures, and authentication
protocols. Towards the end of the course we will cover more advanced topics
such as zero-knowledge, distributed protocols such as secure auctions, and a
number of privacy mechanisms. Throughout the course students will be exposed
to many exciting open problems in the field.

The course will include written homeworks and programming labs. The course is
self-contained, however it will be helpful to have a basic understanding of
discrete probability theory.

The Instructor

Professor Dan Boneh heads the applied cryptography group at the Computer
Science department at Stanford University. Professor Boneh's research focuses
on applications of cryptography to computer security. His work includes
cryptosystems with novel properties, web security, security for mobile
devices, digital copyright protection, and cryptanalysis. He is the author of
over a hundred publications in the field and a recipient of the Packard
Award, the Alfred P. Sloan Award, and the RSA award in mathematics. Professor
Boneh received his Ph.D from Princeton University and joined Stanford in
1997.