General Information

Topic: Cryptography provides important tools for ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive digital data. This course covers the design and application of important cryptographic objects, including basic cryptographic tools, such as encryption, message authentication, and digital signatures, as well as advanced cryptographic objects and protocols, such as zero-knowledge proofs, secure multi-party computation, and fully homomorphic encryption. For each cryptographic object, we formalize its security goal, show schemes that achieve the desired security, and study security attacks or security proofs that establish the insecurity or security of the scheme at hand.

Through this course, we aim to give an overview of the discipline of cryptography, the proper usage and application of important cryptographic tools, and methodologies that modern cryptography offers for developing cryptographic solutions to natural security problems.

Team

Instructor: Huijia (Rachel) Lin, rachel(at)cs, Office hour: Tue 8:00pm - 9:00pm

TA: Ji Luo luoji@cs.washington.edu, Office hour: Fri 12:30pm - 1:30pm

TA: Chengda Xu xuc7@uw.edu, Office hour: Mon 2:00pm - 3:00pm

TA: Kyle Yan kyleyan@cs.washington.edu, Office hour: Wed 10:00am - 11:00am

Email to all staff: cse490c-staff@cs.washington.edu

Online technologies

Due to the spread of coronavirus, instruction of CSE490C is online. We will use the following tools

Lectures, Sections, Office hours: We are going to use Zoom for live lectures, sections, and office hours. The links to them can be found in your Canvas Calendar and on Edstem. Lectures will be recorded and will be available for viewing on Canvas.

Discussion board: We are going to use edstem for all announcements, discussions, Q&A, and for posting all course material including lecture slides, section notes, reading materials, etc.

Homework: We are going to use Gradescope for homework submission and grading.

Policies

Accommodations: We will follow UW policies for disability accommodations and religious accommodations.

Policy: Please also refer to UW policies on conduct and academic integerity

Resources

There is no specific textbook. Notes and reading material will be posted on Piazza. The textbook by Katz and Lindell would be a good resource, Introduction to Modern Cryptography. Below is a list of additional lecture notes and textbooks.

• D. Stinson Cryptography, Theory and Practice (a textbook on different concrete crypto systems, more math oriented.)
• R. Pass and a. shelat. A Course in Cryptography (fun and intuitive lecture notes for an undergrad crypto class, focusing on theory)
• M. Bellare and P. Rogaway's lecture notes. Introduction to Modern Cryptography (lecture notes for a grad class, a blend of theory and practice)
• O. Goldreich. The Foundations of Cryptography (a thorough and formal textbook on foundations.)
• D. Boneh and V. Shoup A Graduate Course in Applied Cryptography (a textbook on applied cryptography)

Grading:

Homework 60% (collaborative, submit in teams of 1 or 2)

Quizzes 20% (independent, no discussion allowed)

Final 20% (independent, no discussion allowed)