Invitation to (Post-)Modern Cryptography

COURSE OBJECTIVES

As seen in the case of the (sars-II-related) contact-tracing apps, one of the hardest tasks when designing a service that collects and processes users' data is putting in place measures to protect such data. This is done through cryptographic protocols. Their design requires to investigate many aspects, both technical and ethical, to identify what data has to be protected and from whom, and to prevent the service to be (ab)used for surveillance purposes. The goal of this course is to introduce the approach (i.e., provable security) and tools (e.g., encryption schemes, digital signatures, ZK proofs) that can be used in this scenario.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
After an introductory part by the teacher, the course is carried out as a seminar, where each participant presents a research article in a talk. Lectures will be 2 hours long, once a week. There is no attendance condition. The grade is derived only from the talk of the students, so there will not be any final exam. No particular background knowledge is required.

LEARNING METHODS
Individual study

EXAMINATION INFORMATION
No exam. The grade is derived only from the talk of the students.

REFERENCES

• Students will be given a list of papers about cryptography and the ethics of security to choose the one they will present from.