Course Content
Module 1: Introduction to Cryptography
This module introduces cryptography, covering its history, importance in cybersecurity, and fundamental concepts such as encryption, decryption, and the differences between symmetric and asymmetric encryption.
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Module 2: Cryptographic Concepts and Principles
This module explores essential cryptographic concepts, including the CIA triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability), authentication, non-repudiation, key strength, and common attacks on cryptographic systems.
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Module 5: Hashing Techniques
This module explores hashing techniques, explaining what hashing is, its properties, and common algorithms like MD5, SHA, and HMAC. It also covers the applications of hashing in data integrity and password protection.
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Module 6: Cryptographic Key Management
This module focuses on the principles of cryptographic key management, including best practices for key generation, distribution, storage, expiration, rotation, and recovery to ensure secure cryptographic operations.
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Module 7: Cryptographic Protocols and Standards
This module explores the various cryptographic protocols and standards used in cybersecurity, including SSL/TLS, IPsec, VPNs, PGP, PKI, and blockchain applications for secure communication and data protection.
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Module 9: Cryptography Tools and Hands-On Practice
This module focuses on practical cryptographic tools, providing hands-on experience with tools like OpenSSL and GPG. Learners will practice encrypting and decrypting data, generating digital signatures, and verifying integrity.
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Module 10: Common Pitfalls and Best Practices
This module highlights common pitfalls in cryptographic implementations, such as weak keys and misconfigurations, while emphasizing best practices for secure encryption, key management, and adherence to industry standards.
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Module 11: Cryptography in Cybersecurity Frameworks
This module explores the role of cryptography in cybersecurity frameworks, focusing on standards like NIST and ISO/IEC, and how cryptographic practices support compliance with regulations such as GDPR and FIPS 140-2.
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Module 12: Summary and Future Directions
This module reviews key concepts and techniques learned throughout the course, explores emerging trends in cryptography, discusses challenges in implementation, and provides insights into the future of cryptographic technologies.
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Cryptography Fundamentals for Cybersecurity
About Lesson

Types of Cryptography: Symmetric, Asymmetric, and Hash Functions

Cryptographic systems can be broadly classified into three categories: symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and hash functions.

 

Symmetric Cryptography: In symmetric cryptography, the same key is used for both encryption and decryption. This method is fast and efficient but has the challenge of securely sharing the key between parties before communication. If the key is intercepted, the entire system is compromised.

Example: The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a widely used symmetric encryption algorithm.

 

Asymmetric Cryptography: Asymmetric cryptography, also known as public-key cryptography, uses a pair of keys: a public key (known to everyone) and a private key (kept secret). Data encrypted with the public key can only be decrypted by the corresponding private key, and vice versa. This system eliminates the need for secure key distribution and is the foundation of secure communications over the internet.

Example: RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) is one of the most popular asymmetric encryption algorithms.

 

Hash Functions: A hash function takes an input (or message) and produces a fixed-length output, typically called a hash or digest. Hash functions are used primarily for data integrity checks, ensuring that data has not been altered during transmission. They are one-way functions, meaning you cannot reverse the process to obtain the original message.

Example: SHA-256 (part of the SHA-2 family) is a commonly used cryptographic hash function.