Introduction to Cryptology

This is a course for beginners interested to know more about cryptology. It covers basic concepts of cryptology, its methods and everyday life applications. Some historical examples of ciphers are given, from ancient times to nowadays, including mysterious Enigma. Learners will learn how to encrypt and decrypt messages and even try to break some ciphers. State and problems of modern cryptology are discussed in the final part of the course.

This training will cover the following:

• Cryptographic methods in information security. Steganography.
• Examples of simple ciphers. Exercises: encrypt / decrypt a message using various ciphers.
• Basic methods of cryptanalysis. Exercise: breaking a substitution cipher.
•  Historical examples of ciphers and encryption systems.
• Modern block ciphers.
• Asymmetric cryptology.
• Post-quantum cryptology

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish between cryptology, cryptography, cryptanalysis, and steganography.
• Understand the basic concepts of encryption, and perform simple encrypting and decrypting operations.
• Recognize and apply basic methods of cryptanalysis.
• Describe historical examples of ciphers.
• Explain how cryptology is used in the modern world.

Interactive presentation and hands-on exercises (paper-based and laptop-based)