Conversation on Cryptography: w/ Mike Meyers

Hey there! Mike Meyers, your favorite nerd, here to present a fun, casual, and informative conversation on cryptography. I partnered with my good friend, Bill Saichek, to talk about one of my very favorite topics: cryptography. I've loved the idea of cryptic codes, secret agents, and deciphering hidden text since I was a kid. And because I've had so many questions on this topic, I decided to try a different kind of course to help my students understand the more complex concepts in cryptography.

This Conversation on Cryptography course was designed with YOU in mind, whether you're just curious about cryptography (like me), or you took my CompTIA Security+ (SY0-501): The Total Course (or any other cyber security course) and would like a better understanding of this intriguing subject. Here's a rundown of what Bill and I talk about:

• Caesar and Vigenere ciphers - These fascinating ciphers form part of the basic foundation of cryptography, back before the digital age when militaries, powerful leaders, and spies had to pass messages that couldn't be deciphered if they fell into enemy hands.

• Binary - In order for ciphers to be useful today, cryptographers had to figure out how to translate them into the language of computers (1s and 0s).

• Hashing - If all our digital data are just strings of 1s and 0s, how can we make sure we have the real deal? Learn about authentication in this episode.

• Asymmetric cryptography - We discuss how generating a key pair offers more security, though at the price of taking more time.

• Symmetric cryptography - This quick and dirty cryptosystem uses a single key to both encrypt and decrypt.

• Asymmetric methods - Dig into how these methods actually work, and how prime numbers are keeping your data safe. Did we mention we play with paint in this episode?

• Certificates - The Web is full of hackers who want to take advantage of your personal and private information. So, who do we trust? That's where certificates come in.

• Public key infrastructure - How do we pass out those certificates? And assure the authenticity of them? PKI to the rescue!

• Living with certificates - We get our hands on some of those certificates and teach you how to troubleshoot them when something goes wrong.

So sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and join Bill & I for a conversation on cryptography.

Who this course is for:

• Beginner-level Cyber or IT Security Technicians who want to better understand how crucial cryptography is to their job.
• Students of any network security course (including my CompTIA Security+ (SY0-501): The Total Course) who would like to get a better grasp on how cryptography is used throughout the Internet.
• PC and Network technicians looking to expand their understanding of cryptography in IT security.
• Anyone curious about cryptography in technology, and how we keep our data safe from hackers as it travels across networks.