Syllabus

Course Description

This is an introduction to the basic concepts and techniques of cryptography. Topics include but not limited to the following:

Classicial cryptography such as Ceasar, Vigenere, Rectangular Transposition, Mono-alphabetic Substitution, Playfair, ADFGVX, Vernam, Affine, Hill, etc.
Elementary probability and statistics: random variables, probability, conditional probability, Chi-square test, etc.
Intro to information theory: entropy, the Huffman code, and perfect secrecy crypto-systems.
Elementary number theory: Euclidean algorithm, Chinese remainder theorem, Euler phi-function, quadratic residues, and primality testing.
Modern cryptography: Diffie-Hellman, RSA, Elliptic Curve cryptography.

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing with some programming experience.

Textbook: There is no required textbook for this class. We shall mainly use the lecture notes for this class.

Optional reference text: An Introduction to Mathematical Cryptography by Hoffstein, Pipher and Silverman. The electronic version of this book is available at UCSD library website.

Homework (80% of your course grade)

First and foremost, late homework will not be accepted and there will be no exception to this rule. If you fail to submit your homework before the deadline, then you will automatically receive a zero for that assignment. Please do not contact the instruction staff to ask for leniency!

There will be 8 assignments in total. Homework assignments are posted on the class website under the “Assignments” tab, and due at 10:00pm on the indicated date through Gradescope. Before the deadline, you may submit as many copies of your homework paper as you would like; however, only the most recent submission will be considered. All problems on homework assignments will be graded for correctness. We strongly encourage that you type your solution. Handwritten papers should be legible or your homework may not be graded. The scores and solutions to these problems will be available on Gradescope and TritonED.

Homework may be done in groups of one to three students. You are free to change group members at any time throughout the quarter. Problems should be solved together, not divided up between partners. Each group only need to submit one copy of their homework. Please remember to indicate the names of all group members in your submission.

Final Exam (20% of your course grade)

The Final Exam will be held on Friday March 22, 3:00pm-5:59pm, location TBA. There will be no make up exam! It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not have a schedule conflict involving the exam. You must pass the final examination (scoring at least 50%) in order to pass the course.

You are allowed to bring one sheet of notes - both sides - and a calculator. It is important that you have a calculator with you on the exam as the questions are written based on the fact that you have access to a calculator. No other substitution devices are allowed, including cellphone, laptop, tablet, etc. Study guide will also be posted roughly one week prior to the exam date.

Grade Policy

As indicated above, your grade will be based on the scores of the homework assignments and the final exam. The letter grade you receive at the end of the course will be based on the following scale:

The final scores may be adjusted to determine the letter grades. However, the letter grade corresponding to a given percentage will never be lower than specified by the above scale.

Regrade Policy

All graded materials will be posted on Gradescope and their solutions on TritonED. If you find a grading error on any graded material, you must immediately request a regrade through Gradescope. All regrade issues regarding homework scores must be resolved within one weeks after the score is published. After that, the score will become final and any late requests will not be considered. Finalized score will then be imported over to TritonED.

Only the grades posted on TritonED will be computed toward your final score percentage. You must keep all of your graded materials and check TritonED frequently to make sure that the grades on your Gradescope pages match those recorded on TritonED. If there is any inconsistency in the recording of your scores, you must inform the instructor or TA before the end of the 10th week of the quarter to resolve recording errors. Questions regarding missing or incorrectly recorded scores will not be considered after the last day of instruction.

Academic Honesty and Attendance Policy

As a student of UC San Diego, you have agreed to abide by the university’s academic honesty policy. Academic integrity violations will be taken seriously and reported immediately. Violation of such policy may result in failing the class, suspension, and even expulsion from the university. Students are expected to attend classes regularly. Cell-phone and all electronic devices must be turned off during lecture time, unless being used for taking note. Further information regarding Academic Integrity policy are available under the "Links" button above. You should make yourself aware of what is and is not acceptable by reading this document. Ignorance of the rules will not excuse you from any violations.

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