AR 211-MA - Codes and Secret Messages

Min Units: 3
Max Units: 3
How can sensitive information such as credit card numbers or military strategy be exchanged between two people without being intercepted by a third party? Are there ways to detect and correct errors resulting from a mistyped identification number or a scratched CD? Can information be exchanged securely among multiple individuals without anyone revealing his or her own decryption scheme? In this course, students will investigate various strategies for storing and transmitting information accurately, efficiently, and securely. Students will design several types of ciphers for sending secret messages, construct various error-detecting and error-correcting codes, and implement secure public-key cryptosystems for exchanging messages with classmates. As these issues are explored, students will discover the need for mathematical notions such as modular arithmetic, permutations and combinations, probability and statistics, vectors and matrices, and formal logic. Students will also become aware of the central role played by cryptology and coding throughout history and modern society. (U) Occasionally