cyrptograpgy

[nitin1]

i Wana start a project on this topic. what is the scope of this topic as i want to do MS in future. Is there any coding related work in this ? I have just started this project 5 days before. thanks.

[np complete]

Cryptography is a vast. I myself is really interested in it, and also made a basic RSA encryption software in C ;). This deals largly with mathematics( number theory ) and coding the algo that you develop. It has vast application, ranging from national security to computer file security.

There are many websites dedicated solely to this topic. You can google it.
Also there exists fine books related to this. Example .

[nitin1]

@np complete is there any coding or pactical work in this topic ? i have started it and i dont want it get bored and there shouldn't be only theory work. i want mixture of that and more focussed towards practical work.

[np complete]

is there any coding or pactical work in this topic ?

There are many practical work in this topic. A prime field of research in cryptography is finding large prime numbers ( greater than 200 digits probably ). Selecting random numbers and checking if its prime or not is also another hot topic for research. Miller - Rabin test is used for this purpose.

There are algos for this purpose ( primality testing ), you may google it. AKS is a good algo.

Now, you may start of with basic cryptography. A strong base in number theory, algorithm analysis is bonus for this purpose.

You can start of by simply applying ceaser cipher. Google for what is it, what it does and code the program.

Then you may go for RSA, RC4 and other encryption algorithm. Hashing theories is also used in cryptography. Check this out.

[nitin1]

hey npcomplete, you seen to be nice informative. means it has too much practical work ? is there any specific language to do all these things as in some language , some types of taks are very easy.

secondly, have you done too much in crytography ? You seem to have good knowledge of this.

thirdly, from where i can start ? I am starting with coursera.org course firstly. if you have something else, let me know.

[np complete]

is there any specific language to do all these things as in some language , some types of taks are very easy.

No there isn't any specific language to do this. Feel free to use any language, which you are comfortable with.

have you done too much in crytography ?

Nope. I'm in learning stage, and basically I have less than 1% knowledge of this vast field / subject.

where i can start ?

As I told you, start with basic, like ceaser cipher. You can consult a book titled "Elementary number theory" by David M Burton. It has basic cryptography and encryption algorithm, chapter dedicated only to cryptography. Choose any algorithm, and code it.

I am starting with coursera.org course firstly

What is this ?

[nitin1]

courera.org is world's biggest site for online courses. and why specially number thoery book ? why not cyrtography book ? please explain!

[np complete]

why specially number thoery book ? why not cyrtography book ?

You can also start of by studying cryptography books, but I prefer number theorictic books for strong foundation.

Also "Elementary number theory" has a nice introduction to cryptography, with simple basic and basic examples, allowing you to understand both, "How" it works and "Why" it works.