Protocols for authenticating machines play an important role in systems security, and this course will focus on various aspects of this challenge. Using case studies of protocols that work and that have failed will help you to acquire the skill — and the skepticism — necessary to analyze and deploy authentication protocols successfully. In this course, you will investigate shared key and public key cryptography along with the trade-offs associated with these different types of keys. You will also examine some of the standard cryptographic building blocks and their use.

It is recommended to only take this course if you have completed “Systems Security” or have equivalent experience.