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CSCE 4050/5050 - Applications of Cryptography - Spring 2025

Class hours: Thursdays, 5:30-8:20pm, in NTDP B155
Instructor: Kirill Morozov (Department of Computer Science and Engineering)
Office hours*: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00-5:00pm, or by appointment.
E-mail: Kirill [dot] Morozov [at] unt.edu

Teaching assistant(s):
  • TBA, office hours TBA
    Email: TBA
  • TBA, office hours TBA
    Email: TBA

Course Description

This course aims at introducing fundamentals of cryptography and their applications. The knowledge gained from this course will enable students to apply cryptographic algorithms as building blocks for designing secure solutions.

Course webpage

All lectures, assignments, and other materials will be posted in Canvas.
Submission of assignments must be made via Canvas as well.

Note: For all communications with instructors and TAs, the subject of your e-mails must start with "CSCE 4050" or "CSCE 5050".

Reference books (recommended)

Supplementary reading:
  • D.R. Stinson and M. Paterson: "Cryptography: Theory and Practice", 4th Edition, CRC Press, 2018.
  • J. Katz and Y. Lindell: "Introduction to Modern Cryptography" (2nd Edition), Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2015.
  • N. Ferguson, B. Schneier, and T. Kohno: "Cryptography Engineering: Design Principles and Practical Applications", Wiley, 2010.

Prerequisites

CSCE 2100 and CSCE 2110, or approval of instructor.

Course schedule*

  • Lecture 1 (Jan 16): Course overview, historical ciphers, mathematical background

  • Lecture 2 (Jan 23): One-time pad and stream ciphers

  • Lecture 3 (Jan 30): Pseudorandom generators

  • Lecture 4 (Feb 6): Block ciphers

  • Lecture 5 (Feb 13): Block cipher modes of operation

  • Lecture 6 (Feb 20): Cryptographic hash functions

  • Lecture 7 (Feb 27): Message authentication codes

  • Lecture 8 (Mar 6): Midterm Exam (1st half);
    Review lecture (2nd half)

  • Spring Break (no class on Mar 13)

  • Lecture 9 (Mar 20): Authenticated encryption

  • Lecture 10 (Mar 27): Public-key cryptography and its mathematical background

  • Lecture 11 (Apr 3): Public-key encryption

  • Lecture 12 (Apr 10): Digital signatures

  • Lecture 13 (Apr 17): Public-key infrastructure and more

  • Lecture 14 (Apr 24): Authenticated key exchange and TLS

  • Lecture 15 (May 1): Identification and secure login (1st half)
    Review lecture (2nd half)

  • May 6 (Tuesday), 3:00-5:00pm: Final Exam

Grading

  • Homeworks: 40%
  • Programming projects: 15%
  • Mid-term exam: 20%
  • Final exam: 25%

Course Policies

  • Grading: Assignments may be submitted up to 3 days late, with a penalty of 15% for each day.
    No credit will be given after 3 days.
  • Academic Integrity: Cheating in exams/assignments, plagiarism in exams/assignments, collusion and falsification of academic records constitute academic dishonesty. Students are responsible for being familiar with UNT’s Students Academic Integrity Policy: https://policy.unt.edu/policy/06-003. Cheating/collusion/plagiarism in assignments/exams will result
    in zero credit for them, possible “F” grade for the course, and possible disciplinary action.
  • Students with Disabilities: Students in need of academic accommodations for disability can refer
    to the Office of Disability Access for initiating the required arrangements based on ADA terms.
    Also, such the students are welcome to arrange an appointment with me to discuss their special needs
    for academic accommodation (to ensure confidentiality).

* Subject to possible changes.

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Last modification: January 14, 2025