Encryption and Cryptography Essentials

Instructor: Dr. Manish Kumar , IBM Skills Network Team

Intermediate Level • 16 hours to complete 3 weeks at 5 hours a week • Flexible Schedule

What You'll Learn

  • ✓Job-ready encryption and cryptography skills for cybersecurity employers need in just 4 weeks.
  • ✓How to classify cryptographic algorithms and key exchange protocols and identify their applications in securing data
  • ✓How to identify and apply encryption techniques to secure communication and ensure data privacy.
  • ✓How to use hashing algorithms and digital signatures in blockchain to secure transactions, validate identities, and ensure data integrity.

Skills You'll Gain

Public Key Infrastructure
Cybersecurity
Algorithms
Blockchain
Encryption
Cryptographic Protocols
Network Security
Cryptography
Data Encryption Standard
Authentications
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
Data Integrity
Data Security

Shareable Certificate

Earn a shareable certificate to add to your LinkedIn profile

Outcomes

  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 4 modules in this course

In this module, you will learn the foundational concepts of cryptography and its essential role in data security. You will classify cryptographic algorithms by their functions. and conduct cryptanalysis using OpenSSL. The module covers asymmetric and symmetric cryptography principles, including RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), with practical exercises in RSA and AES encryption. Additionally, you will explore key exchange protocols like Diffie-Hellman and The Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH), culminating in hands-on experience with Diffie-Hellman key exchanges for secure data transmission

In this module, you will identify basic encryption techniques and their applications while recognizing the distinctions among full-disk, partition, file, and volume encryption. You will describe the role of transport encryption and define the principles of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), including the roles of Certificate Authorities (CAs) and various trust models. Additionally, you will explore the features of the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), Hardware Security Module (HSM), and Secure Enclave for data protection, as well as obfuscation techniques such as steganography, tokenization, and data masking

In this module, you will identify the fundamentals of hashing algorithms, including MD5 and SHA, and apply hashing techniques using OpenSSL to generate secure hashes. You will explain the purpose and importance of digital signatures for data integrity, utilizing OpenSSL to create and verify these signatures. Additionally, you will describe the basics of blockchain technology and its various applications, recognize the role and structure of digital certificates in cybersecurity, and explain the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) for verifying certificate validity. Finally, you will differentiate between self-signed and third-party certificates in certificate management.

In this module, you will apply the knowledge gained in the course in a final project. You will get to apply the different techniques you have learnt throughout the course in a simulated scenario. The module also wraps up the course learning and highlights key takeaways and next steps.