Applied Cryptography & Information Security

Macquarie University via Coursera

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Overview

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Applied Cryptography and Information Security | Master the Hidden Layer of Cyber Defence In a digital world where every click, transaction, and transmission is vulnerable, cryptography is your first line of defence. This course goes beyond theory to equip you with practical, hands-on skills in applying cryptographic tools and technologies across real-world security challenges. Secure the Data, Secure the World Developed by Macquarie University’s Cyber Skills Academy, ranked in the top 1% of universities globally and recognised as Australia’s leading cyber security school, this program has been co-designed with industry to ensure every concept is grounded in today’s cyber landscape. Throughout the course, you’ll build a deep understanding of: • Foundational cryptographic building blocks including symmetric/asymmetric encryption and Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI). • How to secure data at rest and in motion, apply full-disk encryption, and ensure authenticity and non-repudiation. • The use of cryptography in network security protocols, VPNs, wireless systems, and anonymous browsing technologies like TOR. • How cryptography protects intellectual property, software integrity, and operates within secure hardware environments such as HSMs and Trusted Execution Environments. • The cryptographic core of blockchain systems, enabling distributed ledgers, smart contracts, and secure voting mechanisms. • The future of privacy-preserving technologies through homomorphic encryption, federated learning, multi-party computation, and post-quantum cryptography. Protect Everything from Code to Cloud Whether you're a cyber security professional, software engineer, or tech decision-maker, this course will give you the confidence and capability to design, evaluate, and apply cryptographic solutions in a wide range of enterprise and emerging technology contexts. Learn from global leaders. Gain real-world skills. Secure the future.

Syllabus

Cryptography Basics

Cryptography is the backbone of digital security—powering everything from secure messaging and online banking to digital signatures and blockchain. In this foundational topic, you'll explore the core building blocks of modern cryptography, gaining a solid understanding of the essential principles that make secure communication possible. You’ll learn about key security properties such as confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity, and examine the basic cryptographic functions that support them. The topic also introduces symmetric and asymmetric encryption, as well as the role of Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) in enabling secure digital trust. By the end of this topic, you’ll be equipped with the fundamental knowledge required to understand and apply cryptographic techniques throughout the rest of the course.

Information Security

In today’s interconnected world, protecting data both at rest and in transit is essential to maintaining trust and operational integrity. This topic focuses on how cryptographic functions are applied to secure information, ensuring that data remains confidential, authentic, and tamper-proof. You’ll explore key concepts such as authenticity and non-repudiation, and learn how to encrypt and decrypt data effectively across various use cases. From securing individual files to implementing full disk encryption, this topic equips you with practical knowledge to apply cryptographic protections in real-world scenarios. By the end, you’ll understand how to use cryptography to enforce strong information security controls—building a critical layer of defence for digital systems and communications.

Network Security Cryptographic Attacks

As data moves across networks, ensuring its security is paramount. In this topic, you’ll explore how cryptography underpins the trustworthiness of modern network protocols, and how it is used to secure communications against eavesdropping, tampering, and surveillance. You’ll examine the cryptographic foundations of wired and wireless network protocols, including how encryption secures Wi-Fi, VPNs, and anonymous communication networks like TOR. Additionally, you’ll learn how historical and modern systems demonstrate trust, and how weaknesses in these systems can be exploited through cryptographic attacks. By the end of this topic, you’ll have a deeper understanding of how cryptography defends digital communication, and how to evaluate the security posture of protocols used in today’s networked environments.

Software, Keys and Secure Hardware

Cryptography not only protects data—it also safeguards software, digital content, and the hardware environments they run on. In this topic, you’ll explore how cryptographic techniques are used to enforce digital rights, protect intellectual property, and prevent reverse engineering of secure applications. You'll dive into tools and strategies such as copyright enforcement, digital rights management (DRM), and program obfuscation, and understand the importance of robust key management and lifecycle practices. The topic also introduces hardware-based security, including Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), and how these platforms enhance cryptographic operations. By the end of this module, you’ll understand how cryptography is applied not just in software, but also in hardware-focused environments, helping organisations protect everything from proprietary algorithms to device-level secrets.

Blockchain

Blockchain technology is transforming the way we think about trust, transparency, and decentralisation. In this topic, you’ll explore the cryptographic foundations of blockchain, gaining insight into how blocks are linked, validated, and secured in distributed networks. You’ll learn how blockchain enables cryptocurrencies, and dive into powerful downstream applications such as smart contracts, access control, distributed ledgers, and voting systems—all underpinned by cryptographic integrity and consensus mechanisms. By the end of this topic, you’ll understand not only how blockchains are constructed, but also how they are being leveraged across industries to secure data, automate trust, and decentralise control.

Private and confidential computing

As data becomes more valuable and more vulnerable organisations must go beyond traditional encryption to protect sensitive information throughout its entire lifecycle. This topic explores the cutting edge of cryptographic innovation in private and confidential computing, where data remains secure even during processing.You’ll examine how emerging technologies like Homomorphic Encryption, Federated Learning, and Multi-Party Computation (MPC) enable secure operations on encrypted data without ever exposing the underlying information. You'll also learn how to categorise data sensitivity, manage data lifecycles, and prepare for the post-quantum era, where quantum computing threatens to upend current cryptographic standards.By the end of this topic, you’ll have a clear understanding of how advanced cryptography is powering the future of privacy-preserving technologies ensuring that security doesn't come at the cost of usability or innovation.