Inf2301 - Computer communication and security

Autumn 2006, University of Tromsø

Anders Andersen, Steffen Viken Valvåg

Updated: 2006/09/08 07:41:56 GMT (aa)

By connecting computers together, very large and surprisingly reliable systems can be build. At the fundation of all these endeavors are networking. The course is about properties and technologies for connecting computers together. As the systems are applied in ever more important environments, properties related to authenticity and possibly privacy becomes paramount. The latter implies cryptography.

The course focuses on properties of communication between computers, and the machinery needed to faciliate the communication. Among the properties are those arising from the uncertainty of delivery, the omnipresence of errors, and lack of global consistence and authority. There are many technical solutions; their design and implementation is discussed. As computers are used to manipulate real world valuables ever more demans are placed on Authentication, Authorization, and Auditing. Accross a network, only cryptographic technology can assist in upholding interesting properties. Both symmetric- and assymetric encryption will be presented and discussed.