Data Privacy and Security (Fall 2026)

Syllabus

The course is meant to cover an overview of modern techniques aimed at protecting data privacy and security in digital applications. Below is a tentative list of topics.

Introduction to cryptography:

• Confidential communication, secret-key and public-key encryption.
• Authentic communication, cryptographic hashing, message authentication codes and digital signatures.
• Key exchange protocols and TLS. Secure messaging.
• Post-quantum cryptography. Fully-homomorphic encryption.

Differential Privacy:

• Approximate and pure differential privacy. Properties.
• Differentially-private mechanisms: randomized responses, the Laplace mechanism, the Gaussian mechanism, the exponential mechanism.
• Lower bounds on differentially-private mechanisms.

Proofs Systems:

• Interactive proofs, zero kwnoledge and proofs of knowledge.
• Non-interactive proofs and SNARKs.

Blockchain:

• The Bitcoin protocol.
• Altcoins (Algorand, Cardano, ZCash, ...).

Multiparty Computation:

• Two-party and multi-party computation.
• Yao's garbled circuits. MPC with honest majority.
• Private set intersection. Private information retrieval.

Logistics

Important: The lectures are offered exclusively in-person (with no registration taking place).

Lecture time: Tuesday (14:00 - 17:00) and Thursday (14:00 - 16:00).
Location: Room A2 - Via Ariosto 25, Rome.
Twitter: @SapienzaCrypto.
Google Group: SapienzaCrypto.

Grading

Project (30%), oral exam (70%).

Course Slides

• Course info [pdf].
• Chapter 1: Introducion to cryptography [pdf].
• Chapter 2: Key exchange protocols [pdf].
• Chapter 3: Post-quantum cryptography [pdf].
• Chapter 4: Differential privacy [pdf].
• Chapter 5: Proof systems [pdf].
• Chapter 6: Bitcoin & altcoins [pdf].
• Chapter 7: Secure multiparty computation [pdf].

References

While we will not follow a single book; the following sources are suggested as reference. However, only the material included in the slides will be part of the oral exam.

• Daniele Venturi. Crittografia nel Paese delle Meraviglie, Springer, Collana di Informatica, 2012.
• Jonathan Katz, Yehuda Lindell. Introduction to Modern Cryptography, CRC Press, Third Edition, 2025.
• Salil Vadhan. The Complexity of Differential Privacy, Chapter 7 of Tutorials on the Foundations of Cryptography, Yehuda Lindell Ed., Springer, 2017.
• Carmit Hazay and Yehuda Lindell. Efficient Secure Two-Party Protocols, Springer, 2010.

Students' Projects

As part of the exam, students are required to solve a small project and present their project work during the exam. Reach out to me by email after choosing a topic of preference (among those covered in the course) in order to get an assignment. Collaboration among students is welcome.

Exams

The exam dates for academic year 2026/2027 will appear below when available.

Announcements

20/09/2026: The course will start on September 24, 2026.

Lectures