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CSE 108Algorithmic Foundations of Cryptography

5 creditsUndergraduateStudent Option

Focuses on some of the foundational aspects of modern cryptography, namely, private and public key cryptography, digital signatures, pseudorandom generators and functions, message authentication codes, hash functions, and random oracles. Course also connects the formal concepts with some real-world applications, like RA, SSL, and bitcoin, exposing students to general concepts of probability theory, number theory, and rigorous proofs. (Formerly Computer Science 118.)

Prerequisites

Prerequisite(s): CSE 101. Enrollment restricted to computer engineering and computer science majors.

  • Enroll in lecture and associated discussion section.
  • Taught in conjunction with CSE 206C

Find a section and add it to your scheduleLive seat counts, time-conflict checks and the walk from your previous class.

When it runs

Fall 2026Open Fall 2026

SectionTypeWhenWhereInstructorSeats
01Lecture
Mon Wed 5:20pm–6:55pm
ClassroomUnit 001I. DemertzisOpen 47/130

Fall 2025Open Fall 2025

SectionTypeWhenWhereInstructorSeats
01Lecture
Mon Wed 5:20pm–6:55pm
Earth&Marine B206I. DemertzisOpen 110/140

Who teaches it

InstructorRatingDifficultyWould take againReviews
Ioannis Demertzis4.0 / 53.6 / 574%19

From RateMyProfessors, which is student-submitted and not a survey. Small review counts move a long way on one bad quarter.

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