Leader: Phu Dung Le

Offered

Not offered in 2008

Synopsis

The security requirements of parties to a transaction: privacy, proof of identity, ownership, licence, signature, notarisation, date of action, certification of origination and/or receipt. Cryptography: types of cryptoanalytic attacks on a cryptosystem, cryptographic systems, protocols. Secret-key systems: information theory, one-time pads, DES, pseudorandom number generators, current developments. Public-key systems: one-way functions, public-key distribution, RSA cryptosystems, current developments. Applications: WWW security, digital signature, X.509 certificates, the electronic wallet, contract negotiation and signature, smartcard applications.

Objectives

By the completion of this unit students will have a theoretical and conceptual understanding of:

1. Secret key cryptography;
2. Public key cryptography, RSA;
3. Public key certificates;
4. the factors influencing the security of data in distributed systems, especially transaction processing systems;
5. the expectations of and rights to privacy;
6. sympathy for openness to achieve security;
7. sympathy for the principle of proportionality as applied to information security;
8. competent use of software packages for securing email and encrypting files;
9. researching in and writing about information security;

Assessment

Assignments (5 brief weekly assignments): 50%; term paper or project (2,000 words) and 10 minute class presentation: 50%

Contact hours

4 x contact hrs/week

Prerequisites

CSE9002, CSE9801 or equivalent

Prohibitions

CPE5002