Description
This course introduces the science and art behind the design, security analysis, and implementation of modern day cryptosystems that protect privacy and authenticity of data at rest, in transit, and during use. We will see how cryptosystems evolved to withstand systems-level threats and mathematical cryptanalysis.
General Information
Lecture times
This class meets twice per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 3:30-4:45pm in room CAS 211. Students are expected to attend all lectures.
Lab times
This class has 3 different recitation lab sections, all of which are on Fridays. Each student is expected to attend 1 Friday lab section per week. Please stick to the lab for which you are registered, though if you have a conflict and cannot make it on a particular week, let the TA Nicolas know and you can attend a different section if there is space available.
VPN information
Some of the textbooks and reading assignments require access to the websites of publishers like Springer, IEEE, and ACM. You will only be able to access these papers if you are on the BU network or if you VPN into it. Instructions to VPN into the BU network are located here: http://www.bu.edu/tech/services/support/remote/vpn/. Alternatively, prepending "http://ezproxy.bu.edu/login?url=" to the front of a URL allows you to view a single website through the BU network without the need to VPN.
Academic honesty
You must adhere to BU’s Academic Conduct Code at all times. Please be sure to read it here: https://www.bu.edu/academics/policies/academic-conduct-code and https://www.bu.edu/cas/files/2017/02/GRS-Academic-Conduct-Code-Final.pdf. In particular: cheating on an exam, passing off another student’s work as your own, or plagiarism of writing or code are grounds for a grade reduction in the course and referral to BU’s Academic Conduct Committee. Graders will check for instances of strong similarity in homework assignments.
Absences
This course follows BU’s policy on religious observance. Otherwise, it is expected that students attend all lectures and recitation labs. If you miss a lecture, please review the lecture slides posted on Piazza.
Collaboration policy
I encourage you to collaborate with classmates in studying lecture materials and preparing exams. You may also discuss ideas and approaches to the homework assignments with others, as long as you document this fact at the top of your solution and you keep these discussions at a conceptual level. You may not share actual code snippets with classmates or search on the Internet for answers. If you are uncertain whether a particular kind of interaction with someone else violates these rules, please ask me beforehand. Finally, the midterm and final exams are intended to reflect individual activity, so all collaboration is strictly prohibited.
Learning environment
This course follows all BU policies regarding accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Also, while I encourage discussion and debate on ideas, I won’t tolerate criticism of other people. Please respect your fellow classmates and contribute toward a positive learning environment.
Name | Office Hours | |
---|---|---|
Mayank Varia | When? Where? | |
Harrison Richmond | When? Where? | |
Elyse Kaczmarek | When? Where? | |
Xinyuan Zhang | When? Where? | |
Nicolas Alhaddad | When? Where? |
Textbooks
Textbooks