Teaching public/private key signing and encryption in networks

Year
2026
Abstract

This activity is designed to cement the basics of public/private key cryptography for under-graduate students. The basics being taught are: the role of the public key and the private key; the operations of encryption and signing; the possibility of a "man-in-the-middle" attack. The class is structured as an adversarial game between two teams trying to exchange messages and a third team trying to intercept that message. The class was conducted with large paper props representing messages, keys and the operations of signing/encryption. The adversarial (but friendly) nature of the game encourages students to better understand the situation and reason about what opportunities and problems occur for each role.

Summary

A teaching activity that uses an adversarial paper-prop game to teach undergraduates the basics of public/private key cryptography: key roles, encryption and signing, and man-in-the-middle attacks.

bibtex
@article{clegg2026publickeyteaching,
author = {Richard G. Clegg},
title = {Teaching public/private key signing and encryption in networks},
journal = {Connections},
year = {2026},
volume = {46},
number = {2},
pages = {30--34},
doi = {10.2478/connections-2026-0012}
}
Authors
Richard G. Clegg
Venue
Connections, 46(2), pp. 30-34