Applied
Cryptography.

A university course bridging modern cryptographic theory with the systems that ship it. Provable security, TLS 1.3, secure messaging, end-to-end encrypted storage, post-quantum primitives, zero-knowledge proofs, multi-party computation, and homomorphic encryption — with hands-on projects in Go and Rust. Summer 2026 session offers 50 tuition-free spots for students at Lebanese universities.

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$ ./course/applied-cryptography SUMMER 2026
[1.4]pseudorandomnessPRG, PRF, PRP, GGM
[1.7]diffie_hellmanDLP, CDH, DDH
[1.8]elliptic_curvesECDSA, Ed25519
[2.1]tls_1.3handshake, PKI
[2.3]▶ secure_messaginglive · X3DH, double ratchet
[2.6]post_quantumML-KEM, ML-DSA, LWE
[2.8]zero_knowledgeSchnorr, PLONK, Zcash
[…]+ 11 more topics across Part 1 & Part 2
18 topics · Tu/Fr 11:00 Beirut · 6–10 hrs/wk · free for 50
Schedule June 9 – October 10, 2026. Tuesdays and Fridays, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Beirut time. All lectures recorded.
Workload 6–10 hrs/week. 18 topics, 8 problem sets, choose 1–2 of 8 projects.
Eligibility Students currently enrolled at a Lebanese university, undergraduate or graduate. No prior cryptography experience required.
Cost Free for 50 admitted students.
Textbooks The Joy of Cryptography (Rosulek, 2021) and Serious Cryptography, 2nd Ed. (Aumasson, 2024).
Certification Signed certificate of completion. High achievers eligible for personalized recommendation letters.

Syllabus.

18 topics across 2 parts · 8 problem sets · 8 project options
Part 1 — Provable security
1.1

Introduction

Course scope, recurring themes, theory vs. practice, evolution of cryptography.

1.2

The provable security mindset

Perfect secrecy via the One-Time Pad, Kerckhoff's principle, why obscurity fails.

1.3

Computational cryptography

Reduction proofs, adversarial models, indistinguishability, birthday probabilities.

1.4

Pseudorandomness

PRGs, PRFs, PRPs/block ciphers, GGM, Feistel networks, the PRF–PRP switching lemma.

1.5

CPA & CCA attacks

CBC and CTR modes vs. ECB, malleability, CCA security, format-oracle attacks.

1.6

Hash functions

Collision/preimage resistance, birthday paradox, MD5→SHA-3/BLAKE3, password hashing.

1.7

Hard problems & Diffie–Hellman

Discrete log, CDH, DDH assumptions, real-world implementation pitfalls.

1.8

Elliptic curves & signatures

ECDLP, ECDH, ECDSA, EdDSA/Ed25519, NIST vs. Curve25519, invalid curve attacks.

Part 2 — Real-world cryptography
2.1

Transport Layer Security

TLS 1.3 handshake, PKI, FREAK, Logjam, Heartbleed, modern deployment.

2.2

The story of RC4

RC4's lifecycle from 1987 to broken: WEP, SSL/TLS, FMS attack, Bar Mitzvah.

2.3

Secure messaging

PGP, OTR, SIGMA, Signal X3DH + double ratchet, MLS, post-compromise security.

2.4

End-to-end encrypted cloud storage

MEGA, Nextcloud failures, WhatsApp backups, HSMs, OPAQUE, formal E2EE protocols.

2.5

High-assurance cryptography

ProVerif, CryptoVerif, F*, hax — and the verification facade in practice.

2.6

Post-quantum cryptography

Shor's and Grover's algorithms, Learning With Errors, ML-KEM, ML-DSA.

2.7

Cryptocurrency cryptography

Bitcoin proof-of-work, UTXO, Ethereum smart contracts, L2 (state channels, rollups).

2.8

Zero-knowledge proofs

Completeness/soundness, Schnorr, Sigma, Fiat–Shamir, circuits, Zcash, age verification.

2.9

Secure multi-party computation

Yao's garbled circuits, secret sharing, oblivious transfer, SCALE-MAMBA, MP-SPDZ.

2.10

Fully homomorphic encryption

Gentry's breakthrough, BGV, BFV, CKKS, TFHE, privacy-preserving computation.

The program

July 13–16, 2026 Paphos, Cyprus AUB Mediterraneo
1Welcome & FoundationsMon, Jul 13
2Applied Cryptography in PracticeTue, Jul 14
3Protocols & PrimitivesWed, Jul 15
4Advanced Constructions & ClosingThu, Jul 16
View full program at cedarcrypt.org →

Want to bring this course to your university?

All materials are open and reusable. Talk to us about adapting the course for your students, hosting a regional cohort, or sponsoring tuition for under-represented learners.

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