CSE 594: Modern Cryptography (Spring 2017)

Instructor:	Omkant Pandey (Office hours: TuTh 4pm - 5pm in 345 NCS)
TA:	Xi Zhang (xizhang1 [at] cs.stony.brook.edu)
Time:	TuTh 2:30pm - 3:50pm
Location:	Room 2311, Old CS Building
Contact:	omkant [at] cs.stonybrook.edu
	Important: When sending me an email about the course, make sure your title starts with "[CSE 594]" (without the quotes). Mislabeled or unlabeled emails will, most likely, not be read.

Announcements

HW2 is now available and due on Monday, 04/24 through blackboard (only).
Presentation Schedule has been fixed. Discuss your presentation with the instructor well in advance.
HW 1 is due on 02/27 (submit through blackboard only).
Xi Zhang is the TA for the course.
Review of basic probability, see also pages 19-21 of [Smart] and Appendix A of [Pass-Shelat]
Link to scribe template has been fixed.

Course Description

In this class, we will explore some of the topics in modern cryptography. This course is a graduate level course. The course is theoretical in nature with emphasis on proofs and algorithmic reductions (even when discussing applied topics). No prior background in cryptography is assumed. However, students should have mathematical maturity and be comfortable working with definitions and proofs.

Some of the topics we will cover include: one-way functions, pseudo-randomness, symmetric encryption, hash functions, message integrity, digital signatures, and public-key encryption. Time permitting, we may also dive into zero-knowledge proofs and secure multiparty computation.

Students will be required to give a short presentation on one of the cryptography topics not covered in the class. Potential topics will be mentioned in the class throughout the semester. Some example topics include: secret-sharing schemes, fully homomorphic encryption, identity/attribute based encryption, functional encryption, program obfuscation, verifiable computation, etc.

Grading Policy

Subject to minor tweaks throughout the semester.

Scribe notes: 10% Due 1 week after the lecture. Use this template for scribes.
Presentation: 10% Each student is required to give one short presentation.
Assignments: 2 x 15% Two homework assignments.
Mid-term: 25% In class mid-term exam, covering about half of the lectures.
End-term: 25% In class end-term exam, covering everything in the class including topics in the presentations.

Late submissions: Homework assignments and scribe notes submitted 0-24 hours late lose 50% of their score. Submissions that are more than 24 hours late have no value at all.
Collaboration policy: You can collaborate with up to 2 students on your homework assignments to understand the material and questions better. However, you must:

write your own solutions,
mention the names of students you collaborated with on the answer sheet, and
be able to explain your solutions, if asked.

Lecture Schedule

Note: The scribe notes may contain typos and errors; I have not edited them or checked for accuracy.

Date	Topic	Slides	Scribes	Relevant Reading
1/24/2017	Introduction	L01	S01	§3.1—§3.4 [Smart]
1/26/2017	Shannon and Perfect Secrecy	L02	S02	§1.3 [Pass-Shelat]
1/31/2017	One Way Functions - I	L03	S03	§2.1-2.3, §2.10 [Pass-Shelat]
2/02/2017	One Way Functions -II	L04	S04	Thm 33.5, §2.4.3 [Pass-Shelat]
2/07/2017	Hard Core Predicates	L05	S05	§2.5 [Goldreich], §A [Pass-Shelat]
2/09/2017	Lecture cancelled (Winter Storm)
2/14/2017	Proof: Goldreich-Levin Theorem	L06	S06	§2.5 [Goldreich], Bellare Notes
2/16/2017	Pseudorandomness - I	L07	S07	§3.1, §3.2 [Pass-Shelat] / §3.5 [Boneh-Shoup]
2/21/2017	Pseudorandomness - II	L08	S08	§3.4 [Boneh-Shoup] / §3.3 [Pass-Shelat]
2/23/2017	Pseudorandomness - III	L09	S09	§4.6 [Boneh-Shoup] / §3.8 [Pass-Shelat]
2/28/2017	Symmetric Encryption	L10	S10	§3.5, §3.6, §3.7, §3.9 [Pass-Shelat]
3/02/2017	Message Authentication	L11	S11	§5.1, §5.2 [Pass-Shelat]
3/07/2017	Hash Functions	L12	S12	§5.5 [Pass-Shelat] / §8.1-§8.9 [Boneh-Shoup]
3/09/2017	Mid-term exam
3/14/2017	Spring break
3/16/2017	Spring break
3/21/2017	Digital Signatures	L13	S13	§5.3-§5.8 [Pass-Shelat]
3/23/2017	Hardness Assumptions	L14	S14	§2.6-§2.9 [Pass-Shelat]
3/28/2017	Public-Key Encryption - I	L15	S15	§3.10 [Pass-Shelat]
3/30/2017	Public-Key Encryption - II	L16	S16	§11.4-§11.5 [Boneh-Shoup], §4 [Regev]
4/04/2017	More Constructions	L17	S17
4/06/2017	Zero Knowledge Proofs - I	L18	S18	§4.3-§4.6 [Pass-Shelat]
4/11/2017	Zero Knowledge Proofs - II	L19	S19	§4.7 [Pass-Shelat]
4/13/2017	Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge	L20	S20
4/18/2017	Student presentations
4/20/2017	Student presentations
4/25/2017	Student presentations
4/27/2017	Student presentations
5/02/2017	Student presentations
5/04/2017	End-term exam

Useful Books and Lecture Notes

There is no required or prescribed textbook for the course. The material we will cover is from a variety of sources. Here are some excellent (and mostly free) resources:

Boneh and Shoup's upcoming book: A Graduate Course in Applied Cryptography
Lecture notes by Pass-Shelat, Bellare-Goldwasser and Bellare-Rogway
Katz and Lindell's book: Introduction to Modern Cryptography (not free)
Goldreich's book: Foundations of Cryptography Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (some fragments are freely available)
Nigel Smart's book: Cryptography, An Introduction
Menezes, Oorschot, and Vanstone's book: Handbook of Applied Cryptography
Rosulek's upcoming book: The Joy of Cryptography

Misc

Note: If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact on your ability to carry out assigned course work, please contact the staff in the Disabled Student Services office (DSS), Room 133, Humanities, 632-6748v/TDD. DSS will review your concerns and determine with you what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation of disability are confidential.

Note: Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Any suspected instance of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Academic Judiciary. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at http://www.stonybrook.edu/uaa/academicjudiciary/.