Elements of Cryptanalysis

Course Structure

Part I

Foundations of Cryptanalysis

Substitution ciphers, permutations, and frequency analysis. Ch 1–3.

Part II

Classical Polyalphabetic Ciphers

Monoalphabetic attacks, Vigenere, Kasiski test, Index of Coincidence. Ch 4–6.

Part III

Polygraphic Ciphers

Hill cipher, Playfair, and automated cryptanalysis. Ch 7–9.

Part IV

The Enigma Machine

Enigma design, Polish codebreakers, Turing's Bombe. Ch 10–12.

Part V

Information Theory & Block Ciphers

Shannon's secrecy theory, block cipher design, DES. Ch 13–15.

Part VI

Linear Cryptanalysis

Linear approximations, LAT, Matsui's attack on SPN ciphers. Ch 16–18.

Part VII

Differential Cryptanalysis

Differentials, DDT, differential attacks on SPN ciphers. Ch 19–21.

Part VIII

AES and Rijndael

Finite fields GF(2^8), AES design and security analysis. Ch 22–24.

Part IX

RSA and Factoring

RSA cryptosystem, attacks on RSA, factoring algorithms. Ch 25–27.

Part X

Diffie-Hellman & DLP

Discrete logarithm, ElGamal, index calculus method. Ch 28–30.

Part XI

Elliptic Curve Cryptography

EC group law, point groups, ECC in practice. Ch 31–33.

Part XII

Algebraic Cryptanalysis

Gröbner bases, algebraic S-box analysis, algebraic attacks. Ch 34–36.

Part XIII

The Quantum Threat

Quantum foundations, Shor's algorithm, Grover's algorithm. Ch 37–39.

Part XIV

Lattice-Based Cryptography

Lattice problems, LWE, ML-KEM (Kyber), lattice attacks. Ch 40–42.

Part XV

Code-Based Crypto & Frontiers

McEliece, NIST PQC standards, synthesis and future directions. Ch 43–45.

Course Rules

Schedule

Thursdays

13:45–15:15 & 15:30–17:00

Office Hours

Room B1-15

Tuesdays, 12:00–13:00

Credits

5 ECTS

60 hours • AMUPIE

Format

Flipped Classroom

Self-study + live discussions

Each week you will have reading material and exercises to work through before class. Live sessions are devoted to discussions, case analysis, and collaborative problem-solving.

Course Evaluation

30%

In-class Activities

Participation, discussions, and in-class exercises.

30%

Moodle Activities

Weekly homework assignments submitted via Moodle.

40%

Projects

Implementation projects with written reports.

Threshold	Grade
90%	bardzo dobry (5)
85%	dobry plus (4.5)
80%	dobry (4)
75%	dostateczny plus (3.5)
60%	dostateczny (3)
< 60%	niedostateczny (2)