Cryptography: Pseudo-Random Generators and Block Ciphers

This free online course highlights the instantiations of Pseudo-Random Generators (PRGs) and the practical construction of Block Ciphers. You will learn about the concept of one-way functions, how to design PRGs with one-bit and arbitrary expansions, the recent developments in the area of practical instantiations of PRGs, constructions based on Linear Feedback Shift Register(LFSR), Software ciphers and more. The variants of Pseudo-Random Generators will be discussed in the first section of the course.

Next, you will gain insight into a very important building block for the Symmetric-Key Cryptosystem namely Pseudo-Random Functions (PRFs). You will see how to construct Pseudo-Random Generators from Pseudo-Random Functions. Then, you will learn about designing efficient Chosen Plaintext Attack (CPA) Secure Ciphers from Pseudo-Random Functions. You will see some drawbacks of the CPA-Secure Cipher, and you will be shown how to design efficient CPA-Secure Ciphers from Pseudo-Random Permutations via modes of operations; like the Electronic Code Book (ECB) mode, Counter (CTR) mode, and more.

Thereafter, you will learn about the construction of provably-secure Pseudo-Random Functions from provably-secure Pseudo-Random Generators. Lastly, you will gain insight into the practical construction of Block Ciphers and an introduction to the Chosen Ciphertext Attack (CCA) Security Model. You will also see an overview of the Data Encryption Standard(DES) and the Advanced Encryption Standard(AES). This course is a great starting point for anyone who wants to learn about the working principles of Pseudo-Random Generators and Block Ciphers, to improve the security of their computer systems and data. Why wait, start this course today!