Computer Networking › Section H · Security in computer networks › Topic H.2

Principles of cryptography

Cryptography lets Alice turn a message into something Trudy cannot read, using a key only the right people hold. This topic follows the idea from letter-shifting ciphers to the block ciphers, public-key systems and key agreement that protect network traffic today.

In this topic

  • Keys, ciphertext and the attacker's view
  • Substitution ciphers and frequency analysis
  • Worked example: a Vigenère cipher
  • Block ciphers: DES and AES
  • Why blocks must be chained
  • Public-key encryption
  • Worked example: RSA with tiny numbers
  • Diffie-Hellman key agreement
  • Worked example: Diffie-Hellman with tiny numbers
  • Session keys and the road ahead
  • Common mistakes to avoid
  • Key takeaways

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