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Unit of study_
MATH2088: Number Theory and Cryptography
2025 unit information
Cryptography is the branch of mathematics that provides the techniques for confidential exchange of information sent via possibly insecure channels. This unit introduces the tools from elementary number theory that are needed to understand the mathematics underlying the most commonly used modern public key cryptosystems. Topics include the Euclidean Algorithm, Fermat's Little Theorem, the Chinese Remainder Theorem, Mobius Inversion, the RSA Cryptosystem, the Elgamal Cryptosystem and the Diffie-Hellman Protocol. Issues of computational complexity are also discussed.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Mathematics and Statistics Academic Operations |
| Credit points | 6 |
|
Prerequisites:
?
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MATH1061 or MATH1961 or MATH1971 or MATH1064 or MATH1964 or MATH1002 or MATH1902 or MATH1004 or MATH1904 or (a mark of 65 or above in MATH1014) |
|---|---|
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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MATH2068 or MATH2988 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. understand and use the basic terminology of number theory and cryptography
- LO2. carry out simple number-theoretic computations either with a calculator or using MAGMA
- LO3. apply standard number-theoretic algorithms
- LO4. understand and use some classical and number-theoretic cryptosystems
- LO5. apply standard methods to attack some classical cryptosystems
- LO6. understand the theory underlying number-theoretic algorithms and cryptosystems, including the general properties of primes, prime factorisation, modular arithmetic, divisors and multiplicative functions, powers and discrete logarithms.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 2 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
