A message on the Internet is sent through several networks and via different stations on its way to the target system. The individual stations are responsible for ensuring that the message is properly forwarded and finally delivered to the correct recipient. Each of these stations, if the message is sent in plain text, can receive the message and read its content. This means that a potential attacker, if he controls one of these intermediate systems, can also read the content of the message and even modify it before retransmitting it. Such attacks can have extreme effects on communication.

In this course we will look at how and whether your connection to online banking is secure or whether the content of an e-mail is trustworthy. For this purpose we will deal with the basics of cryptography, security objectives and different types of encryption. In addition, we will provide insights into different models and standards that are used in practice.

Self-paced since January 27, 2021
Language: English
Advanced, Beginner, Cybersecurity, Internet

Course information

A message on the Internet is sent through several networks and via different stations on its way to the target system. The individual stations are responsible for ensuring that the message is properly forwarded and finally delivered to the correct recipient. Each of these stations, if the message is sent in plain text, can receive the message and read its content. This means that a potential attacker, if he controls one of these intermediate systems, can also read the content of the message and even modify it before retransmitting it. Such attacks can have an extreme impact on communication, as information is no longer confidential and the credibility of the message can no longer be established.

For this reason, encryption procedures are used to ensure that the content of messages can only be interpreted by the sender and the recipient. This ensures that the information remains confidential. Furthermore, there are procedures that can be used to detect whether there has been a change in the information in a message. These security procedures are currently in widespread use and are used in particular for sensitive services such as online banking.

In this course we will look at how and whether your connection to online banking is secure or whether the content of an e-mail is trustworthy. For this we will deal with the basics of cryptography, security objectives and different types of encryption. In addition, we will provide insights into different models and standards that are used in practice.

Take the cybersecurity exam and get a qualified certificate!

This course content is part of the cybersecurity series on openHPI. The series consists of three courses and ends with the Cybersecurity exam in March 2021. By the Cybersecurity exam, you have the chance to receive a free record of achievement or a qualified certificate. Therefore, please attend the three courses Confidential Communication in the Internet, Digital Identities, and Cyberthreats by Malware and finish them with a confirmation of participation. This allows you to register for the cybersecurity exam which covers questions from all three courses.

Contents:

  • Introduction
  • Safety objectives
  • Cryptography
  • Cryptoprotocols & Attacks
  • Certificates and Trust Center
  • Encryption
  • Signatures
  • Technical digressions (AES, hash functions, ...)

Key data on the course

  • Required skills: general IT knowledge, solid mathematical knowledge
  • Course level: Basics, but courses also go into depth
  • Target group: Everyone interested in encryption methods and digital signatures

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More video lectures can be found at www.tele-task.de.

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Learners

Current
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7,342
Course End
Jan 27, 2021
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Course Start
Jan 13, 2021
3,228

Rating

This course was rated with 4.29 stars in average from 80 votes.

Certificate Requirements

  • Gain a Record of Achievement by earning at least 50% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.
  • Gain a Confirmation of Participation by completing at least 80% of the course material.

Find out more in the certificate guidelines.

This course is offered by

Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel

Christoph Meinel (Univ. Prof., Dr. sc. nat., Dr. rer. nat., *1954) is CEO and Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering gGmbH (HPI) at the University of Potsdam.

Christoph Meinel is full professor (C4) for computer science at the HPI at the University of Potsdam, and holds there the chair of Internet Technologies and Systems. He was the founding dean of the first private faculty of Germany, the Digital Engineering faculty of the university of Potsdam.

He teaches courses on IT Systems Engineering in the Bachelor and Master Degree programs on digital engineering of the HPI and on design thinking at the HPI D-School. He is the author of various interactive online courses at the MOOC platform openHPI.de which was and is developed and operated by his team. His research focus is currently on knowledge and educational technologies, security engineering, and AI. He is also active in innovation research and design thinking. Earlier scientific work concentrated on efficient algorithms and complexity theory.

Christoph Meinel is author or co-author of 19 books, many anthologies, as well as numerous conference proceedings. He has more than 700 (peer-reviewed) papers published in scientific journals and international conferences, and holds a number of international patents. He has supervised and supervises many master and doctoral students, more than 70 have already successfully defended their doctoral theses.
He is a member of the National German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), director of the HPI-Stanford Design Thinking Research Program, member of the board of governors of the Technion in Haifa, visiting professor among others at the TU Beijing, and member of numerous scientific committees and supervisory boards. Together with Larry Leifer he was program director of the HPI Stanford Design Thinking Program and serious editor of the Springer serious “Understanding Innovation”. Since 2012 Christoph Meinel has developed the MOOC platform openHPI which is meanwhile used by various partners (SAP, WHO, KI-Campus, …) and counts more than 15 Mio. learner enrollments. In the years 2016-2021 he has developed the HPI Schul-Cloud which meanwhile is used in more than 4.000 schools all over Germany. For many years he offers the HPI ID Leak Checker service which is frequently used by 16 Mio. users. He was the founder of the scientific journal ECCC and in the years 1994-2016 its editor-in-chief.