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Cryptography Principles for IT Professionals and Developers

by Michael Perry

Although it appears complicated, cryptography is based on simple mathematics. This course will guide you through the theory and application of cryptography so that you will understand for yourself when it is used incorrectly and how to use it well.

What you'll learn

Cryptography is at the heart of all information security, from administering infrastructure to writing secure code. To be effective, you need to understand how cryptography works and how far it can be trusted.

In this course, Cryptography Principles for IT Professionals and Developers, you will learn to apply cryptographic algorithms to keep your systems safe.

Here's what you will learn:

  • First, you will learn the nature of information and see how that understanding directly informs the tools that you choose.
  • Next, you will apply those tools to protect secrets, documents, and systems under your control.
  • Finally, you will explore how to create new tools by coding against cryptographic libraries in C# and Java.

When you are finished with this course, you will have the skills and knowledge of cryptography needed to select and apply the correct algorithms to build a complete cryptosystem, and keep your users safe.

Table of contents

Course Overview
1min

Course FAQ

What is Cryptography?

Cryptography is a way to secure communication between two parties through the use and study of techniques that block or restrict malicious third parties (aka "adversaries") from accessing the data. In its basic from, cryptography is a set of protocols, or aglorithms, created to keep communications and data private and secure.

What is Cryptography used for?

Modern usage of cryptography range from e-commerce transactions and chip-based card payments to digital currencies and computer passwords.

Who is this Cryptography course for?

This is an intermediate level cryptography course designed specifically for IT professionals and developers who are looking to expand their skillsets into cryptography. Before you begin this course you should have a foundational knowledge of algebra and be comfortable at the command line. Knowledge of either C# or Java will help when we get into the coding excersises.

What you will learn:
  1. How to use the openssl command line tool
  2. When to apply hash, symmetric, and asymmetric algorithms
  3. What goes into a digital certificate
  4. How to use cryptography libraries in both .NET and Java

About the author

Software is math. Michael L Perry has built upon the works of mathematicians like Bertrand Meyer, James Rumbaugh, and Donald Knuth to develop a mathematical system for software development. He has captured this system in a set of open source projects, Update Controls and Correspondence. As a Principal Consultant at Improving Enterprises, he applies mathematical concepts to building scalable and robust enterprise systems. You can find out more at qedcode.com.

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