ECE598DA Topics in Information-Theoretic Cryptography

Description

In this course, we will study foundational and recent work on the use of information theory to design and analyze cryptographic protocols. We will begin by studying privacy attacks which motivate strong privacy and security definitions. Then, we will explore the basics of differential privacy and study some core works on zero-knowledge proofs. Finally, we will explore various applications, including watermarking of generative models.

Meeting Times/Days

1hr 20 mins (9:30AM - 10:50AM) on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Location

Room 2015 in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Building

Instructor

Daniel Alabi

Office Hours: 11AM-12PM on Tuesdays (CSL 118) and by appointment

Prerequisites

• At least one of:
  • ECE 313/MATH 362: Probability with Engineering Applications
  • MATH 461: Probability Theory
• ECE/CS 374: Introduction to Algorithms and Models of Computation

Prerequisite overrides will be considered by the instructor on a case-by-case basis.

Recommended Textbooks

• Introduction to Cryptography with Coding Theory. By Wade Trappe, Lawrence C. Washington.

• Tutorials on the Foundations of Cryptography. Edited by Yehuda Lindell.

Schedule

Week 1: Introduction: motivations, one-time pad review, talking drums, probability theory review

Readings:

• Chapter 1 of The Information by James Gleick
• Chapters 1-3 of Introduction to Probability Models by Sheldon Ross

Exercises for Week 1

Week 2: Attacks on Privacy, Security, Valuation

Readings:

• Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 4 of Trappe-Washington
• Dinur-Nissim attack

Exercises for Week 2

Week 3: Standard Mechanisms for Differential Privacy and Composition

Readings:

• Chapters 1 and 2 of Vadhan

Exercises for Week 3

Week 4: Information-Theoretic Lower Bounds for Differential Privacy

Readings:

• Chapter 5 of Vadhan

Week 5: Differentially Private Statistical Estimation and Testing

Readings:

• Gaboardi et al.
• McSherry-Talwar

Week 6: Privacy for Distributed Computing

Readings:

• Warner
• Kairouz et al.

Week 7: Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Readings:

• Goldwasser-Micali-Rackoff’89
• Goldreich-Micali-Wigderson’86

Week 8: Statistical Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Part I

Readings:

• Complete Problem for SZK

Week 9: Statistical Zero-Knowledge Proofs: Part II

Readings:

• Statistical Difference Beyond the Polarizing Regime

Week 10: Multi-Party Computation

Readings:

• Yao

Week 11: Multi-Party Differential Privacy

Readings:

• Chapter 9 of Vadhan

Week 12: Computational Differential Privacy

Readings:

• Chapter 10 of Vadhan

Week 13: More Applications and Project Topics

• Adaptive Leakage Attacks
• Watermarking of Generative Models
• Proof Systems for Machine Learning
• Bounded-Storage Cryptography
• Quantum Cryptography (Chapter 17 of Trappe-Washington)

Week 14: Project Presentations

Grading Policy

Class Participation (30%)

• Attendance is mandatory for all lectures, with a maximum of three unexcused absences allowed.
• Each student must (co)scribe at least one lecture during the course.

Exercises (0%)

• There will be weekly (optional) exercises/homework.
• These exercises will not be graded but you can ask the instructor for the solutions.
• The goal is to help you prepare for the quiz and to reinforce your understanding of the material.

Quiz (10%)

• There will be 1 (in-class) short quiz to gauge students’ understanding of the fundamentals.
• The quiz will happen either in the middle or end of the semester.

Project (60%)

Students will work on projects related to one or more of the covered topics. The project is divided into four components:

• Proposal: 15%
• Mid-term report: 15%
• Final presentation: 15%
• Final report: 15%