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Maine Center for Research and Education in Information Assurance and Security
Department of Computer Science
University of Maine, Fort Kent
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COS 430 - Cryptography

Course Description
  • Prerequisites: COS 206 Survey of Information Security and Assurance, COS 354 Network Security, MAT 180 Finite Math 1: Logic and Combinatorics

    The course introduces the principles of number theory and the practice of network security and cryptographic algorithms. Topics include: Primes, random numbers, modular arithmetic and discrete logarithms. Conventional or symmetric encryption (DES, IDEA, Blowfish, Twofish, Rijndael) and public key or asymmetric encryption (RSA, Diffie-Hellman), key management, hash functions (MD5, SHA-1, RIPEMD-160, HMAC), digital signatures, certificates and authentication protocols (X.509, DSS, Kerberos), electronic mail security (PGP, S/MIME), web security and protocols for secure electronic commerce (IPSec, SSL, TLS, SET).

  • Goals and Objectives
  • At the end of the course the student will understand:

    • DES - Data Encryption Standard
    • IDEA - International Data Encryption Algorithm
    • AES - Advanced Encryption Standard - Rijndael
    • MD4, MD5 - Message Digest Algorithms
    • SHS - Secure Hash Algorithm and Standard
    • RSA - Public Key Algorithms
    • Diffie Hellman Key Exchange
    • Authentication Systems for People and Computers
    • Kerberos V4 and V5
    • Electronic Mail Security
    • S/MIME Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension
    • Students will demonstrate how to create a secure network infrastructure
    • Students will describe Intrusion Detection methodologies
    • Students will to create a security baseline analysis and remediation for that analysis
    • Students will be expected to demonstrate a basic understanding of Cryptography
    • Students will be able to describe the role of Physical Security in Network Security
    • Students will be able to discuss Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    • Students will be able to conduct Computer Forensics

  • Requirements
  • Students will be required to demonstrate their knowledge of Network Security fundamentals through examinations, assignments, graded labs and the Capstone project. Individualized Capstone projects will allow each student to develop an in-depth understanding of a particular aspect of Network Security and will allow the student to demonstrate his/her ability to apply newly learned skills and concepts to the instructor and his\her classmates.

  • Method of Instruction
  • Lectures and demonstrations covering the above listed material will be further supplemented with hands-on Network Security lessons and labs. Lectures will provide general conceptual overviews and demonstrations of applied concepts and technologies. Projects and assignments will be (to the greatest extent possible) tailored to the participants' needs. Materials from outside sources will be used for added emphasis. All information and material presented in class and through assigned readings are to be considered fair game in any exam.

  • Method of Evaluation
  • The examinations will be comprised of questions that test the student’s knowledge of the concepts along with their ability to apply those concepts to real-world networking security issues. The Capstone project will be evaluated on content, form, presentation and the ability of the student to conduct independent analysis, design and implementation. Periodic assignments will be required to demonstrate understanding of the concepts being discussed. Students will be expected to participate and collaborate with their classmates and the course instructor. Attendance at all classes without participation does not warrant a full 10% in the over-all course grade.


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