FubswrorjbTeri Schmidt

Matt RoseK-12 Outreach

Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, Purdue

University

Overview

What is cryptology?

Why should we care about it?

Some cryptology basics

How can we incorporate it into the curriculum?

What is cryptology?

CRYPTOLOGYThe study of enciphering and

deciphering messages

CRYPTOGRAPHYThe making of a cipher system (enciphering of a message)

CRYPTANALYSISThe breaking of a cipher system (deciphering of a message)

STEGANOGRAPHY=Hiding the actual existence of the message (invisible ink, hiding messages in art, etc.)

Why should we care about cryptology? Natural curiosity about

secrets

We encounter its use every day• Email• ATM• Credit cards• E-commerce• Movies, books

Exciting, interdisciplinary topic

Some cryptology basics: Terms

Plaintext=readable message

Cipher=method of hiding the message

Key=shared information that allows the message to be encyrpted or enciphered

Ciphertext=encoded message

Cryptanalysis

Cryptography

Some cryptology basics: Example=A cipher that is monalphabetic, substitution and shift

Plaintext=CRYPTOLOGY

Cipher=SHIFT EACH LETTER A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SPACES

Key=3 SPACES FORWARD

Ciphertext= FUBSWRORJB

Cryptanalysis

Cryptography

Incorporating cryptology into the K-12 curriculumTwo methods:

Interdisciplinary projects/units/adventuresBenefits:

• Connections between disciplines• Applications to real life• Fun and motivating

Lessons/activities within a single discipline to teach or reinforce conceptsBenefits:

• Applications to real life• Can help to make concepts easier to remember• Fun and motivating

Incorporating cryptology into the K-12 curriculum:

Social Studies

History: have students research the historical uses of cryptography• Sparta, 500 B.C.• Caesar cipher, 50 B.C.• Jefferson’s wheel cipher, 1790• Revolutionary war• Slave quilts, early and mid-1800s• Decryption of Zimmermann Telegram and WWI• Capturing rumrunners • WWII (Japanese “Purple”, German “Enigma”, Navajo code talkers)• Cuban Missle crisis• Korean and Vietnam wars

Civics and government: have students investigate the legal, governmental, and ethical issues surrounding cryptography

Incorporating cryptology into the K-12

curriculum: English Have students write research papers about the past and

present uses of cryptography

Incorporate vocabulary words into cryptography activities

Use cryptography to explore the development of linguistics and communication in different cultures and times

Have students write about a encryption or decryption technique that they created or discovered

Incorporating cryptology into the K-12 curriculum: Science

Explore the make-up of invisible ink used in steganography and have students make their own invisible ink

Have students use and document their use of a systematic scientific method for decrypting a message

Incorporating cryptology into the K-12 curriculum: Mathematics Encourage the use of problem solving skills by having students

encrypt and decrypt messages

Teach students about frequency distributions by investigating a simple substitution cipher

Introduce or reinforce the concept of a function and of function notation and inverses of functions by investigating a shift cipher

Introduce or reinforce the concept of a permutation by investigating a transposition cipher

Introduce or reinforce many other concepts including: probability, matrix operations, modular arithmetic, cyclic groups, factorization and prime numbers, graph theory, number theory

Questions?Thank you!

Teri Schmidttmschmid@cerias.purdue.edu(765) 496-6761

Matt Rosemrose@cerias.purdue.edu(765) 496-7710

http://cerias.purdue.edu/education/k-12/

Now it’s your turn!