Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor and Lecturer Xuyun Zhang xuyun.zhang@mq.edu.au Contact via Contact via Email Room 287, Level 2, 4 Research Park Drive, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109 Lecturer Hassan Asghar hassan.asghar@mq.edu.au Contact via Contact via Email Room 210, Level 2, 4 Research Park Drive, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites COMP1010 and MATH1007
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status Co-badged with COMP6300
Unit description	Unit description This unit provides an introduction to modern applied cryptography. It deals with the concepts and techniques behind cryptographic primitives, such as hash functions, symmetric-key ciphers, public-key cryptography and digital signatures. It then explains the concept of cryptanalysis before addressing important cryptographic protocols. The unit concludes with a review of existing applications including blockchain and cryptocurrencies, electronic voting schemes, executable code signing, full disk encryption, etc. Learning in this unit enhances student understanding of global challenges identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

ULO1: Explain the concepts and principles on which modern cryptography relies upon.
ULO2: Employ adapted cryptographic tools and techniques to encrypt, decrypt and sign messages.
ULO3: Decipher simple encrypted messages using a range of cryptanalysis methods.
ULO4: Apply cryptographic technologies and protocols to increase data security and protect privacy.

General Assessment Information

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit, you must:

Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50% across all assessments, and
Attempt the hurdle activities for a minimum of 6 out of the 10 weekly quizzies

Hurdle Assessment

Weekly Tasks (10%): weekly quizzes. This is a hurdle assessment meaning that failure to meet this requirement may result in a fail grade for the unit.

Weekly tasks are the only hurdle assessment for this unit. There will be 10 weekly quizzes. You are required to attempt at least 6 of the 10 to pass the hurdle. Note that the hurdle is the attempt, not the marks obtained. For example, you may secure less than 50% masks in the quizzes, but you will still pass the hurdle if you have attempted 6 or more of them. This activity is a hurdle to promote you to demonstrate your developing and communicating knowledge and skills in applied cryptography through continual attempt quiz questions, which also encourage you to regularly participate in and keep up with the lectures and workshops preceding the quizzes. There is no opportunity to resit the hurdle, because it only requires you to attempt the quizzes. In the rare event that you miss more than four quizzes resulting in you failing the hurdle, please apply for the approval of Special Consideration.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty

Students enrolled in Session based units with written assessments will have the following university standard late penalty applied. Please see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/assessments for more information.

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. For example, if the assignment is worth 8 marks (of the entire unit) and your submission is late by 19 hours (or 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds), 0.4 marks (5% of 8 marks) will be deducted. If your submission is late by 24 hours (or 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds), 0.8 marks (10% of 8 marks) will be deducted, and so on.

The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration.

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted

In this unit, late submissions will accepted as follows:

Assignments 1 and 2 – YES, standard late penalty applies
Module Exam #1, #2 and #3 - NO, unless Special Consideration is granted
Weekly Tasks - NO

Assignment Release Dates:

Assignment 1: To be released no later than Monday Week 4.
Assignment 2: To be released no later than Monday Week 9.

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment.

Written Assessments and Module Exams: If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assignments and module exams in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through http://connect.mq.edu.au/.
Weekly quizzes: To pass the unit you need to attempt 6 out of the 10 weekly quizzes. Note that a Special Consideration should only be applied for if you miss more than four of the weekly quizzes.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Weekly Tasks	10%	Yes	11:55 pm on Sundays, weekly
Module Exam #1	20%	No	Week 5, during your registered practical class / workshop
Assignment 1	15%	No	11:55 pm on Friday Week 7
Module Exam #2	20%	No	Week 9, during your registered practical class / workshop
Assignment 2	15%	No	11:55 pm on Friday Week 12
Module Exam #3	20%	No	Week 13, during your registered practical class / workshop

Weekly Tasks

Assessment Type ¹: Problem set
Indicative Time on Task ²: 5 hours
Due: 11:55 pm on Sundays, weekly
Weighting: 10%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

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.