Cryptography & Coding
4.0
creditsAverage Course Rating
A first course in the mathematical theory of secure and reliable electronic communication. Cryptology is the study of secure communication: How can we ensure the privacy of messages? Coding theory studies how to make communication reliable: How can messages be sent over noisy lines? Topics include finite field arithmetic, error-detecting and error-correcting codes, data compressions, ciphers, one-time pads, the Enigma machine, one-way functions, discrete logarithm, primality testing, secret key exchange, public key cryptosystems, digital signatures, and key escrow. Students should have computing experience. Recommended Course Background: AS.110.201
Spring 2013
Professor: Donniell Fishkind
The best aspects of the course included the real-life examples given in class and the well-structured lessons that covered much about Information Security. The worst aspects of the course included the dul and ancient material taught, as well as the lack of practical assignments to reinforce what was being taught in class. Students felt that the course didn’t add much to what they already learned from other Information Security courses. The course would improve if the class was more engaging with more participation and assignments. Prospective students should have some basic knowledge of networking and security in this course that involves lots of reading and writing.