Coursera

Classical Cryptosystems and Core Concepts (Coursera)

Offered by University of Colorado System,

Welcome to Introduction to Applied Cryptography. Cryptography is an essential component of cybersecurity. The need to protect sensitive information and ensure the integrity of industrial control processes has placed a premium on cybersecurity skills in today’s information technology market. Demand for cybersecurity jobs is expected to rise 6 million globally by 2019, with a projected shortfall of 1.5 million, according to Symantec, the world’s largest security software vendor. According to Forbes, the cybersecurity market is expected to grow from $75 billion in 2015 to $170 billion by 2020.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

In this specialization, you will learn basic security issues in computer communications, classical cryptographic algorithms, symmetric-key cryptography, public-key cryptography, authentication, and digital signatures. These topics should prove especially useful to you if you are new to cybersecurity Course 1, Classical Cryptosystems, introduces you to basic concepts and terminology related to cryptography and cryptanalysis. It is recommended that you have a basic knowledge of computer science and basic math skills such as algebra and probability.
Course 1 of 4 in the Introduction to Applied Cryptography Specialization

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Specialization Introduction
This module covers an introduction of the specialization and instructors, covers what to expect from this educational experience and also, an introduction to the course Classical Cryptosystems and Core Concepts.
Cryptographic Tidbits
In this module we present an introduction to cryptography, differentiate between codes and ciphers, describe cryptanalysis, and identify the guiding principles of modern cryptography. After completing this course you will be able to read material related to cryptographic systems, understanding the basic terminology and concepts. You will also have an appreciation for the historical framework of modern cryptography and the difficulty of achieving its aims.

WEEK 2
Cryptanalysis
Delving deeper into cryptanalysis, in this module we will discuss different types of attacks, explain frequency analysis and different use cases, explain the significance of polyalphabetical ciphers, and discuss the Vigenere Cipher. When you have completed this module, you will have an appreciation of the different types of attacks and under what kinds of situations each might be applicable.

WEEK 3
Hash Functions
Continuing on our exploration of the fundamental concept of cryptography, this module will explain the Hash Function, its purpose and application, potential attack vectors, and the importance of hash functions on cryptographic design. Upon completion you will be able to understand the role that hash functions play in cryptography and how cryptographic hash functions differ from other types of hash functions.

Go to Class

MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Coursera

University of Colorado System

Asymmetric Cryptography and Key Management (Coursera)

Security & Networking

In asymmetric cryptography or public-key cryptography, the sender and the receiver use a pair of public-private keys, as opposed to the same symmetric key, and therefore their cryptographic operations are asymmetric. This course will first review the principles of asymmetric cryptography and describe how the use of the pair of keys can provide different security properties. Then, we will study the popular asymmetric schemes in the RSA cipher algorithm and the Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange protocol and learn how and why they work to secure communications/access.

Jun 22nd 2026

4 Weeks

Cryptography Networks Computer Security

Coursera

University of Colorado System

Cryptographic Hash and Integrity Protection (Coursera)

Security & Networking

This course reviews cryptographic hash functions in general and their use in the forms of hash chain and hash tree (Merkle tree). Building on hash functions, the course describes message authentication focusing on message authentication code (MAC) based on symmetric keys. We then discuss digital signatures based on asymmetric cryptography, providing security properties such as non-repudiation which were unavailable in symmetric-cryptography-based message authentication.

Jun 22nd 2026

4 Weeks

Cryptography Computer Security Applied Cryptography Specialization

Coursera

University of Colorado System

Detecting and Mitigating Cyber Threats and Attacks (Coursera)

Security & Networking

Computer attacks and data breaches are inevitable. It seems like every day a data breach occurs and the victims of the data breach suffer. Their information is stolen or posted online. The company’s or businesses who had the breach go on, learn a little from the attack, and just give credit monitoring out as if nothing happened. What if you could help prevent a data breach in your organization? This is the third course in the Practical Computer Security specialization. This course looks at detection and mitigation of threats and attack vectors and discusses how to use tools and principles to protect information.

Jun 22nd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Security Cybersecurity Cyber Attacks

Coursera

New York University

Enterprise and Infrastructure Security (Coursera)

Security & Networking

This course introduces a series of advanced and current topics in cyber security, many of which are especially relevant in modern enterprise and infrastructure settings. The basics of enterprise compliance frameworks are provided with introduction to NIST and PCI. Hybrid cloud architectures are shown to provide an opportunity to fix many of the security weaknesses in modern perimeter local area networks.

Jun 22nd 2026

4 Weeks

Security Enterprise Cybersecurity

Coursera

University of Washington

Computational Neuroscience (Coursera)

Robotics & Computer Vision

This course provides an introduction to basic computational methods for understanding what nervous systems do and for determining how they function. We will explore the computational principles governing various aspects of vision, sensory-motor control, learning, and memory. Specific topics that will be covered include representation of information by spiking neurons, processing of information in neural networks, and algorithms for adaptation and learning.

Jun 22nd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Neuroscience MATLAB Brain

Coursera

INSEAD

Introduction to Blockchain for Global Commerce (Coursera)

Business

This course discusses the limitations of the Internet for business and economic activity and explains how blockchain technology represents the way forward. After completing this course, you will be able to explain what blockchain is, how it works, and why it is revolutionary. You will learn key concepts such as mining, hashing, proof-of-work, public key cryptography, and the double-spend problem. You’ll be able to describe seven design principles for blockchain technology, and the challenges facing the people developing it.

Jun 28th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Cryptography Cryptocurrency Blockchain

Coursera

New York University

Cyber Attack Countermeasures (Coursera)

Security & Networking

This course introduces the basics of cyber defense starting with foundational models such as Bell-LaPadula and information flow frameworks. These underlying policy enforcements mechanisms help introduce basic functional protections, starting with authentication methods. Learners will be introduced to a series of different authentication solutions and protocols, including RSA SecureID and Kerberos, in the context of a canonical schema.

Jun 22nd 2026

4 Weeks

Cryptography Cybersecurity Cyber Attacks

Coursera

University of Colorado System

Advanced System Security Topics (Coursera)

Security & Networking

In this MOOC, we learn RBAC and ABAC access control to facilitate the specification and management of access policies. We learn examples of how RBAC is supported by modern systems such as Docker and AWS IAM. We learn XACML 3.0 and an ABAC implementation for controling secure access to web documents and network resources with attribute certificates, and XACML architecture components.

Jun 22nd 2026

4 Weeks

Network Security Advanced System Security Design Specialization

Coursera

University of Colorado System

TCP/IP and Advanced Topics (Coursera)

Security & Networking

In this course, we give an in-depth study of the TCP/IP protocols. We examine the details of how IP enables communications across a collection of networks. We pay particular attention to the hierarchical structure of IP addresses and explain their role in ensuring scalability of the Internet. The role of address prefixes and the uses of masks are explained in details. We review in details about TCP three-way handshake, flow control, and congestion control. Furthermore, we provide an introduction to some advanced topics, including Multicast, SDN and security

Jun 22nd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Security Networks TCP/IP

Coursera

University of Colorado System

Introduction to Cybersecurity for Business (Coursera)

Security & Networking

The world runs computers. From small to large businesses, from the CEO down to level 1 support staff, everyone uses computers. This course is designed to give you a practical perspective on computer security. This course approaches computer security in a way that anyone can understand. Ever wonder how your bank website is secure when you connect to it? Wonder how other business owners secure their network? Wonder how large data breaches happen? This is practical computer security. It will help you answer the question – what should I focus on?

Jun 22nd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Security Risk Assessment Information Security

Coursera

University of Colorado System

Hacking and Patching (Coursera)

Security & Networking

In this MOOC, you will learn how to hack web apps with command injection vulnerabilities in a web site of your AWS Linux instance. You will learn how to search valuable information on a typical Linux systems with LAMP services, and deposit and hide Trojans for future exploitation. You will learn how to patch these web apps with input validation using regular expression. You will learn a security design pattern to avoid introducing injection vulnerabilities by input validation and replacing generic system calls with specific function calls.

Jun 22nd 2026

4 Weeks

Security Attacks Hacking

Coursera

University of Maryland, College Park

Hardware Security (Coursera)

Security & Networking

In this course, we will study security and trust from the hardware perspective. Upon completing the course, students will understand the vulnerabilities in current digital system design flow and the physical attacks to these systems. They will learn that security starts from hardware design and be familiar with the tools and skills to build secure and trusted hardware.

Jun 22nd 2026

5-12 Weeks

Security Hardware Computer Science