We present a concrete situation where there is a difference between the theoretical security of a cipher and its limitations when implemented in practice. Specifically, when entering a PIN, smudges on the keypad substantially reduce its security. We show how the number of possible keys in the presence of the "smudge attack" can be…

We present a detailed description of a Cryptography and Computer Security course that has been offered at Knox College for the last 15 years. While the course is roughly divided into two sections, Cryptology and Computer Security, our emphasis here is on the Cryptology section. The course puts the cryptologic material into its historical context…

This article describes the use of a comic book to anchor a cryptology and cybersecurity curriculum for upper elementary students. Perceptions about the comic book from 138 students across 11 afterschool programs were examined using survey, classroom observation, and interviews. Data analysis revealed that the comic book created a…

This paper describes the development of a training module to improve students' individual online behaviors. We developed this module to integrate cyber hygiene concepts into a hands-on learning activity where students develop and secure a mobile web application using the Salesforce Developer tool. This new module aims to prepare the next…

Communication privacy is constantly under threat from Nation State Adversaries (NSA). This has led many platforms, such as Facebook and Apple, to implement secure conversation cryptographic protocols in their messaging applications. However, many of the protocols do not provide provable security and do not provide other security guarantees about…

Nearly half the adult population in developing nations lacks a formal bank account and other financial services. Ghana is no exception, having a massive community of unbanked adults and among those countries positioned at the bottom of the spectrum of financial inclusion. The advent of mobile financial services (MFS) claims an alternative mode to…

Cybersecurity educational efforts are urgently needed to introduce young people to the profession and give students and teachers cybersecurity knowledge to protect themselves from increasing cybercrime. In this study, 56 elementary preservice teachers participated in a 3-hour intervention within a technology integration course that introduced them…

With the rapid development of information technology, various online education platforms support the sharing of digital educational resources. Because digital educational resources are simple to duplicate and disseminate quickly, there exists copyright infringement, which threatens the interests of copyright owners. In addition, the existing…

In this paper, we present an activity to introduce the idea of public-key cryptography and to make pre-service STEM teachers explore fundamental informatics and mathematical concepts and methods. We follow the Theory of Didactical Situations within the Didactical Engineering methodology (both widely used in mathematics education research) to…