Cryptography and Coding Theory

Ethics Project: A detailed explanation of the Ethics project is included at the end of the

syllabus.

Exams: both midterms and the final will be take-home exams. They are open book,

open computers (within reason; see the note on computer usage). They are not open

neighbor. You are expected to complete them on your own without discussing the

problems with other students, other professors, strangers on the internet, etc. I will give

you access to certain online tools that you may use, and will show you how to build your

own which you may also use. You may not use tools built by anyone else.

Computers: This is a math course, but due to its nature, we will use computers

extensively, including for homework assignments and exams. I will give you access to

certain online tools, but you may not use the internet to solve homework or exams

problems using any tools other than those I specifically give you access to. No prior

programming experience is required to perform well in this course. However, I will show

you how to use the Python language in Google’s CoLab environment. You are welcome

to code in any language that you are comfortable using, but the graded coding

assignments will need to be submitted in python for the sake of the grader. If you have

never coded before I am happy to work with you in office hours to help you feel

comfortable. For questions regarding the usage of AI, see the policy statement below.

Group work: You are encouraged to work together in groups, ask questions and help

each other. However, you should write up your own homework solutions and computer

code.

Copying another student’s work is neither academically honest, nor will it help you master

the material and perform well on exams.

Policies:

Lecture Attendance: The stated attendance policy of the College of Arts and Science

applies in this course; unless you have an excused absence, you are expected to attend

all scheduled class meetings. Examples of excused absences include participation in a

sponsored university activity, observance of religious holidays, serious illness, death in

the student’s family, or graduate

school interviews. If you miss a lecture, it is your responsibility to obtain notes from a

classmate and review the textbook before coming to me with questions. If you miss a

lecture, you are responsible for any assignments and/or announcements made. If you

miss an exam, please see the appropriate sections below for more details.

Usage of generative AI: The Usage of generative AI (such as ChatGPT or other

services) must be disclosed when used, and discussed with me beforehand. You should

not use these tools to sidestep your own effort in completing assignments. Doing so will

be counterproductive to your learning in this course. You should not use generative AI to

complete your coding assignments for you, or to write your ethics project (It may,

however, assist you in performing your research).

Accommodations: If you require course accommodations due to a disability, need

special

arrangements in case of evacuation, or have emergency medical information that needs

to be shared with the instructor, you should contact the instructor as soon as possible.

Student Access Services at

Vanderbilt provides instructors with information about specific accommodations with

physical or learning disabilities. Faculty cannot provide accommodations without an

official notification from the SAS office. If you believe you qualify for accommodations,

you should contact the SAS office during the first week of classes . Failure to

contact them in a timely manner and follow the given procedures may result in a delay

that prevents you from receiving your

accommodations. Upon receiving appropriate documentation from the student, the SAS

office will arrange with the instructor for the appropriate accommodations.

Diversity and Inclusivity: We are all responsible for creating a safe, inclusive

environment in the classroom. An inclusive classroom does not mean that differences

are ignored, but rather that students can expect that they will not be excluded,

stereotyped, or judged based on their differences. I expect all students (and myself) to

respect each other’s differences in background and identity, such as race, gender,

ethnicity, sexuality, and class.

Cryptography Ethics Project

Cryptography is closely related to debates concerning ethics in cyber security,

espionage and security versus privacy. For this project choose one recent event (last 20

years) to research that highlights this debate, and present your findings in a well

prepared project. For most of you, this will take the shape of a 2-3 page essay.

However, if so inspired, you may present your project in some other format. Just make

sure you run it by me first. Your paper should be well written and sourced. I'm more

interested in your research and analysis than in your writing ability, but you will lose

points for sloppiness.

Possible topics include:

 Domestic and Foreign surveillance authorized under the Patriot Act.

 Whistleblowers such as

o Edwared Snowden.

o Chelsea Manning.

 Operation Aurora (A large-scale cyber attack on US-based tech companies).

 The Stuxnet virus and attack on Iran nuclear facilities.

 Tech companies providing sensitive data to the US and foreign

governments.\\ More specifically:

o Yahoo turning over data of activist Shi Tao to China.

o FBI/Apple encryption dispute.

 DUAL\_EC\_DRBG (An NIST standard for random number generation with a

backdoor placed by the NSA).

 Wikileaks.

Provide sources for the event such as news articles or press releases. Wikipedia may be

used in conjunction with other primary sources. Answer relevant questions such as:

 What is the controversy?

 Who are the actors involved? What were their roles?

 What are their stated motivations? Did their actions support these stated

motivations?

 Did either party succeed in their intents?

 Do you believe the actions involved were intelligent? Legal? Ethical? Honorable?

 How would you think you have acted the same or differently if you were involved?

 Were you aware of this event before researching it for this topic? If so, has your

view on it changed?

You are not restricted to this list of events, or questions, and some of these questions

are not relevant to every topic.