Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor, lecturer
Les Bell
Contact via By email
Available for the hour after Wednesday lectures; other times by appointment.
Workshops Supervisor
Byungho Min
Contact via X. 6342
E6A 346
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
39cp and (COMP125(P) or COMP165(P)) and (DMTH137(P) or MATH237(P) or DMTH237(P))
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
COMP343 / ITEC643
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides an introduction to modern cryptography and information security. First, some cryptographic primitives, such as private key and public key ciphers, hash functions and digital signatures, are introduced. Then, some security technologies are discussed to illustrate how basic cryptographic primitives are concretely used in real life applications. Various attacks on the cryptographic schemes and protocols are also discussed.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
---|---|---|
Tutorial Tasks | 10% | Weekly |
Assignment 1 | 15% | Week 7 |
Assignment 2 | 15% | Week 12 |
Mid Semester Test | 15% | Week 6 |
Final Examination | 45% | TBA |
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 10%
Each week, a set of exercises will be available online. Some require written submissions, while some are multiple choice. Your solutions should be submitted electronically via iLearn before the deadline specified in the text.
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 15%
Implementation of a cryptoprimitive and test program. The assignment is to be submitted via iLearn. Late submissions attract no marks.
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 15%
Security Evaluation of a System or Product. The assignment is to be submitted via iLearn. Late submissions attract no marks.
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 15%
A 50 minutes long written examination worth 15% that will be held in week 6 during class time. This will test your understanding of material covered in weeks 1 to 6. The mid-semester test has the same structure as the final examination. The feedback received will allow you to be better prepared for the final examination.
Due: TBA
Weighting: 45%
The final examination is designed to test your understanding of basic concepts of modern Cryptography and Information Security. Regarding the examination process, note that:
Each week you should complete any assigned readings and review the lecture slides in order to prepare for the lecture. There are two hours of lectures on Wednesday mornings, and a third hour on Thursdays at lunch time.
There are two practical workshops, on Mondays and Fridays, which use hands-on exercises to introduce and reinforce concepts related to the lecture content; you should have chosen a practical on enrollment. You will find it helpful to read the workshop instructions before attending - that way, you can get to work quickly!
For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.
Note that Practicals commence in week 1.
You should have selected a practical at enrollment.
Please note that you will be required to submit work every week. Failure to do so may result in you failing the unit or being excluded from the exam.
This unit makes use of discussion boards hosted within iLearn . Please post questions there; they are monitored by the staff on the unit.
Required readings for this unit:
Recommended readings for this unit:
iLearn
iLearn is a Learning Management System that gives you access to lecture slides, lecture recordings, forums, assessment tasks,...
Echo 360 (formerly known as iLecture)
Digital recordings of lectures are available. Read these instructions for details.
Technology Used
Java programming language and GP/PARI, GnuPG, TrueCrypt, Thunderbird, OpenSSH, PuTTY.
Week |
Topic |
Reading |
1 |
Introduction to cryptography, information theory, classical ciphers up to Enigma |
Lecture Slides, HAC Chapter 1.1, 2.1-2.3 |
2 |
Secret-key (Symmetric) Cryptography - Principles, DES, Attacks on DES |
Lecture Slides, HAC 7.3, 7.4, 2.4 - 2.6 |
3 |
Secret-Key (Symmetric) Cryptography - Other block ciphers, AES, Stream Ciphers, Sources of Randomness |
Lecture Slides, HAC 6, 5.1, |
4 |
Cryptographic Hash Functions and Constructions |
Lecture Slides, HAC 9 |
5 |
Public Key Cryptography - RSA, DSA, El Gamal |
Lecture Slides, HAC 8 |
6 |
Public Key Cryptography - Attacks on RSA, Elliptic Curve Cryptography, Mid-term test |
Lecture Slides, HAC 8, 11 |
7 |
Introduction to infosec, encrypted files and filesystems, block cipher modes |
Lecture Slides, Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report |
8 |
Authentication, protocols, signatures |
Lecture Slides, SE Chapters 3, 5, 15 |
9 |
Encryption for network communications - SSL, SSH, PGP |
Lecture Slides, Notes, SE Chapter 20 |
10 |
Access control - discretionary access control in UNIX and Windows, mandatory access control and trusted systems, security models for applications |
Lecture Slides, Notes, SE Chapters 4, 8, 9 |
11 |
Information security, risk management, software security, forensics and incident investigation |
Lecture Slides, Notes, SE Chapter 25 |
12 |
Zero-knowledge Proofs, Anonymity, Blind Signatures, Digital Cash and Voting |
Lecture Slides, Notes |
13 |
Revision and exam preparation |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Four standards, namely Developing, Functional, Proficient, and Advanced, summarize as many different levels of achievement. Each standard is precisely defined to help students know what kind of performance is expected to deserve a certain mark. The standards corresponding to the learning outcomes of this unit are given below:
Outcome |
Developing |
Functional |
Proficient |
Advanced |
Demonstrate an understanding of the principles and concepts of cryptography and information security |
Distinguishes applicability of secret-key and public-key cryptography and hashing. |
Understand basic concepts of secret-key and public-key cryptography and hashing. Correct formulation of basic cryptographic attacks. |
Understand detailed concepts of secret-key and public-key cryptography and hashing. Ability to describe some cryptographic attacks in detail. |
Mastery of cryptographic concepts; ability to describe all cryptographic attacks from unit in detail; ability to relate security parameters to complexity of cryptanalysis |
Apply existing security technologies to preserve security properties of information |
Basic awareness of requirement for security |
Can safeguard own data on disk, exchange files and emails securely with others, can compare and select authentication mechanisms |
Can relate security requirements to design of applications and selection of security model and security services |
Able able to set basic security policy, write standards and procedures for multiple users; understands security features/usability tradeoffs |
Apply security principles in the development of applications and systems |
Limited ability to implement a correct Java or C++ program following specifications |
Correctly implement low-level functionality of a cryptoprimitive in Java or C++; implement a program following specifications; able to avoid most common security vulnerabilities in software development |
Write efficient, well-documented Java or C++ code which implements a cryptoprimitive in Java or C++ and utilise this in a program which meets specifications. |
Design well-architected, efficient and well-documented Java or C++ code to implement a cryptoprimitive, together with all required tests and demonstration program, following good design and test practice |
Relate information security to enterprise requirements and activities |
Ad-hoc approach to security based on personal experience only |
Can relate information security function to business requirements and policy |
Detailed understanding of vulnerabilities and controls; ability to respond to security incidents |
Basic ability to manage information security in an enterprise |
Grading
At the end of the semester, you will receive a grade that reflects your achievement in the unit
The relation between standards and grades can be loosely described as follows. If you consistently fail to reach any standard, you will fail the unit. If you consistently achieve
More precisely, your final grade depends on your performance in each part of the assessment. For each task, you receive a mark that combines your standard of performance regarding each learning outcome assessed by this task. Then the different component marks are added up to determine your total mark out of 100. Your grade then depends on this total mark and your overall standards of performance.
In particular, in order to pass the unit, you must
In order to obtain a higher grade than a Pass, you must fulfill the pass requirements and get an overall total mark in the range: