Cryptography Basics for Hackers

Course Overview

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practices of cryptography. You will explore the historical development of cryptographic methods, understand key modern techniques, and gain hands-on experience with cryptographic tools and analysis.

What you will learn:

1. History of Cryptography

   • Early ciphers and codes

   • Key concepts in classical cryptography

   • The Enigma machine and its impact on World War II

2. Symmetric Cryptography

   • Principles of symmetric encryption

   • Common symmetric algorithms (AES, DES, 3DES)

   • Applications and limitations of symmetric cryptography

3. Asymmetric Cryptography

   • Public key cryptography concepts

   • Diffie-Hellman key exchange

   • Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)

4. Hashes and Hashing

   • Cryptographic hash functions

   • Common hash algorithms (MD5, SHA family)

   • Using hash-identifier for algorithm detection

5. Cryptanalysis

   • Goals and methods of cryptanalysis

   • Classical cryptanalysis techniques

   • Quantum computing and its implications for cryptography

6. Wi-Fi Cryptography

   • Evolution of Wi-Fi security protocols (WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA3)

   • Encryption and authentication in wireless networks

   • Vulnerabilities and attacks on Wi-Fi cryptography

7. Salts and Salting

   • Purpose and importance of salting

   • How salting strengthens password hashing

   • Rainbow tables and their countermeasures

8. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

   • Digital certificates and certificate authorities

   • SSL/TLS protocols

   • Web of trust models

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the historical context and evolution of cryptography

• Differentiate between symmetric and asymmetric cryptography and their use cases

• Apply basic cryptographic techniques for data protection

• Implement secure hashing practices including salting

• Understand the fundamentals of Wi-Fi security protocols

And More!