Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Topics Covered

  • Interactive Proofs
  • Zero-Knowledge Proofs
  • Zero-Knowledge Proofs of Knowledge
  • Non-Interactive Zero-Knowledge Proofs
  • Secure Protocols
  • Two-Party Secure Computation
  • Multiparty Secure Computation
  • Chosen Ciphertext Security

Textbooks

None. The course materials will consist of lecture notes scribed by students and research papers in cryptography which will be available as paper handouts in class.

Prerequisites

6.875/18.425 or equivalent. We are very serious about this requirement. This class will involve difficult definitions and logic, much like 6.875/18.425, and experience with this is essential.

Grading Policy

Your grade will be based on a combination of class participation, scribe notes, and presentation of a paper.

Scribe Notes

You must scribe at least one lecture, two if the need arises. Scribe notes are due to the TA two days after the lecture. What we expect for the scribe requirement is for you to give a written summary of the lecture, probably about 4-5 pages. The scribed lecture must be given in TEX format (we will provide a template). It is important that you not only write what was said in lecture, but also clarify things, as these scribe notes provide the text for the class.

Paper Presentation

You will also be required to read a paper outside of class and present a summary of it to the professor and TA at least, and possibly to the whole class in lecture.