CSPP 532: Final Project

Due Friday, August 24, at 5:00 PM

I'm listing some sample ideas for projects below. I encourage you to come up with your own idea if you prefer. Recall that, if you want Foundations credit for the class, your project must be on the algorithmic side.

You need to confirm your project with me, even if you're basing it on an idea on this page. I'd like to see a proposal by Tuesday, August 7. This is not intended to be an obstacle; I'm expecting something between a paragraph and a page, and you can get it to me by email or in hardcopy. I just want to make sure your topic isn't too narrow or too broad.

Whether you write a paper or a program, I reserve the right to discuss it with you in person before assigning a grade. Please document your sources. Plagiarism is unacceptable.

You should be warned that Tom Hayes and I talk to each other. If you're taking both this class and CSPP 535, and you want to do one larger project to satisfy his requirements and mine, we're happy to discuss it with you. But, if you try to submit the same project to both classes without telling us, we will not be amused.

Here are some sample projects. Most of them could be done as a paper or as a program. I have no fixed length requirements in mind, but I picture a paper as being roughly ten pages.

• Faster multiplication algorithms.
• Analyze the Miller-Rabin primality testing algorithm. What exactly is the expected running time? Say you try to screen out multiples of primes up to some p; what's the best value of p?
• Factoring algorithms.
• Elliptic-curve based public key.
• Add bells and whistles to your RSA program. (e.g., a GUI, encrypted key storage, email, secure http transmissions)
• A standard cryptography product (e.g., ssh). (The programming version of this is to write your own client.)
• Combine cryptographic primitives to construct a protocol for a useful task (e.g., voting).
• Analyze the Illinois Electronic Commerce Security Act. Does this law give too little or too much weight to digital signatures, or is it well-constructed?
• Write a paper about government and cryptography. (e.g., key escrow proposals, import/export laws)
• Should a company's PKI include biometrics?

Again, I encourage you to come up with your own ideas. Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions.