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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Cryptography I by Stanford University

4.8
stars
4,220 ratings

About the Course

Cryptography is an indispensable tool for protecting information in computer systems. In this course you will learn the inner workings of cryptographic systems and how to correctly use them in real-world applications. The course begins with a detailed discussion of how two parties who have a shared secret key can communicate securely when a powerful adversary eavesdrops and tampers with traffic. We will examine many deployed protocols and analyze mistakes in existing systems. The second half of the course discusses public-key techniques that let two parties generate a shared secret key. Throughout the course participants will be exposed to many exciting open problems in the field and work on fun (optional) programming projects. In a second course (Crypto II) we will cover more advanced cryptographic tasks such as zero-knowledge, privacy mechanisms, and other forms of encryption....

Top reviews

BH

Jan 13, 2020

Provides a comprehensive introduction to cryptographic history, current technology, best practices and known attacker techniques. A great deal of material is covered in a relatively compact program.

BC

Mar 10, 2017

Cutting edge cryptography topics. Good explanations and slides, but pause button is highly recommended. Can be a bit too mathematical for the general public, and not very formal for mathematicians.

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151 - 175 of 872 Reviews for Cryptography I

By Dasarapalli R R

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Apr 20, 2020

This course is a little difficult compared to any other courses i have taken in coursera. Very vast, problematic but fun to learn and Try to complete coding assignments, they are help in understanding the encryption techniques very well.

By Ian M

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Apr 29, 2020

Exceptional material for anyone wanting to add Cryptography to their toolbox. Previous maths knowledge doesn't hurt. And some basic coding knowledge, if you wish to engage with the additional material.

I eagerly await v.2 of this course!

By Georgios K

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Nov 8, 2017

Challenging, yet very informative. Dr. Boneh is extremely good at explaining the concepts of basic Cryptography. I especially liked the "proofs by images". Will be definitely going for Crypto 2 as soon as I have time available for it.

By Gustavo S

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Mar 8, 2016

When someone explains concepts and ideas in such an easy way, it means he/she understands fully what he talks about; this is the case of Professor Dan Boneh; I widely recommend this course for anyone interested in Cryptography topics.

By Jose J A A

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Feb 10, 2018

One of the best courses of my life, well planned, very up to date, with good examples, good academic level. Very recommendable for those who want to know the new discipline created in the term of the last century called cryptography.

By Boyd F

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Sep 7, 2021

Well organized course with excellent problem sets and exams. Covers basic crytoanalysis, MAC, symmetric cipher, key exchange and asymmetric encryption. Great introduction to the topic with a relatively low level of mathematics.

By Charif M

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Jul 5, 2021

Without any hesitation, one of the best computer science courses I've ever had. Dan is brilliant, straight to the point and very pedagogue. Thank you for this wonderful course, and looking forward to studying Cryptology II soon :)

By Aakash P

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May 29, 2021

Amazing course. Learnt a lot regarding crypto basics and concepts behind it. The math was a bit tough at some points but the explanations were excellent so that there is little to no doubts left at the end. Can't wait for Crypto 2

By Sönke B

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Mar 20, 2018

I learned a lot from this course. From my perspective (background in math), Boneh made a good trade-off between a rigorous approach and covering real-world crypto - both is covered to a sensible degree. Looking forward to part 2.

By John S

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May 16, 2017

Great course.

The material is explained masterfully. The exercises are interesting, challenging and effectively strengthen the knowledge acquired from the lectures. One of the best courses I've taken both in university and online.

By Hayyu I

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Jun 26, 2020

Dan Boneh is an excellent instructor - as you start wondering some questions during his lectures, the next minute he would answer it in the video. Some sections might be a bit too maths-heavy for those with no maths background.

By Tigran K

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Jan 27, 2023

This is the best course in cryptography.

Yes, it is difficult, but this course is necessary to understand the topic and grow knowledge in this industry.

Thanks to Dan Boneh for his great work and inspirit example for students.

By Oscar L

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Aug 20, 2020

Incredibly well explained- I learnt so much from a base of little knowledge and the format was really good. Weeks 7 and onwards are mentioned to be in a different course so I'll have to find that as well. Thank you very much!

By Antoine S

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Jul 2, 2016

It 's the second time I follow this course and I still find that so amazing. I'm waiting Crypto II until a year and I hope it will be released soon... Thanks Pr Boneh for sharing your little (for you) big (for me) knowledge !

By Michael B

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Feb 14, 2017

Really cool course that was fun and very informative. Really well designed quizzes, homeworks, and programming assignments. It was pretty difficult compared to most online courses but I guess that's expected from Stanford...

By Chris H

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Nov 22, 2016

Time consuming and hard work but very rewarding. Took me several attempts to finish (other life commitments kept getting in the way).

Will be doing it at least once more to try and finish all the programming exercises too :)

By Puth G

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Dec 24, 2017

This Is AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Ted W

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Oct 15, 2020

The extra assignments where the best! The lectures explain in a way it is easy to understand. And still the course holds a reasonable amount of mathematics and examples making the course a little more complex and deep.

By Yaprak O

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Oct 14, 2019

Can be difficult at times but the concepts are definitely rewarding. The psets were creative and effectively asked students to apply concepts. Dan Boneh is articulate as always and knows how to get the subject across.

By Stu M

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Nov 19, 2017

I started this course a long time ago, it feels great to finish it. There was a lot of theory, but the message of 'don't try it build it yourself' was driven home. I look forward to the other topics in cryptography 2.

By Clare A

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May 31, 2020

I had not taken any cryptography classes before taking this class. Professor Boneh did a great job explaining the concepts, and I feel like I have a much better understanding of cryptography now. Excellent course!

By Ben T

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Jun 8, 2020

This was a much more in depth and theory-based approach to cryptography than others I've taken. It was super valuable, even having prior experience working with many crypo primitives and protocol implementations.

By Gabriela S

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Sep 7, 2017

Great course! I like the content and organization of the course. However, the last two weeks of the course were somehow complicated to understand. I will continue studying security and I am waiting for Crypto II.

By Ricardo S

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Jan 6, 2021

Excellent course about Cryptograpgy. Dan Boneh makes it look easy.

I work in the field since one year, after that course I have a much better understanding of several topics that are critical in securing data.

By Lucida

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Mar 2, 2020

The basic ideas in crypto are shown clearly and in an understandable way. I took this course because of interest, and after completing it, I developed a stronger desire to take a deeper look into this subject.