Cryptography for Beginners: Master SHA-256, AES & RSA with Python ๐
Kickstart your cryptography journey with this comprehensive Python course! Learn essential techniques like hashing, symmetric & asymmetric encryption, and secure password management.

freeCodeCamp.org
1.9K views โข Nov 4, 2025

About this video
Learn about cryptography in this beginner's course. You'll learn essential techniques like hashing (SHA-256) for verifying file integrity, symmetric encryption (AES), and asymmetric encryption (RSA) using public and private keys. The practical focus of the tutorial involves building a fully functional command-line cryptography tool in Python. Upon completion, you'll have a complete practical toolkit and the skills to safeguard data, secure passwords, and deter tampering.
This course was developed by Thanishkka. She is part of Hack Club. Hack Club is a global non-profit organization that creates a community for high school students interested in coding and making things with technology.
Hack Club is free and any teenager can join. Check out their site to get stickers and learn more: https://hackclub.com/
โญ๏ธ Contents โญ๏ธ
- 00:00 Introduction: What is Cryptography?
- 00:36 About Hack Club and the Course Creator
- 01:09 Cryptography Basics & Cybershe Demo
- 02:26 Three Main Areas: Hashing, Symmetric, and Asymmetric Encryption
- 03:09 Deep Dive into Hashing (SHA 256) and File Integrity
- 04:37 Symmetric Encryption with AES (Key, IV, and Modes)
- 07:20 Asymmetric Encryption with RSA (Public and Private Keys)
- 09:37 Setup: Python and VS Code Installation
- 10:40 Creating and Activating a Virtual Environment
- 12:15 Installing Required Python Libraries (cryptography, zxcvbn, bcrypt)
- 13:46 Coding the File Hashing Function (hash.py)
- 18:36 Coding the File Integrity Verification Function
- 22:05 Coding AES Symmetric Encryption/Decryption (encryption.py)
- 26:26 Coding RSA Asymmetric Encryption/Decryption
- 30:03 Coding the Password Strength Checker (password.py)
- 35:28 Coding Password Hashing and Verification (using bcrypt)
- 39:27 Building the Command Line UI (main.py)
- 47:26 Final Toolkit Demo and Testing
- 49:15 Conclusion and Next Steps
โค๏ธ Support for this channel comes from our friends at Scrimba โ the coding platform that's reinvented interactive learning: https://scrimba.com/freecodecamp
๐ Thanks to our Champion and Sponsor supporters:
๐พ Drake Milly
๐พ Ulises Moralez
๐พ Goddard Tan
๐พ David MG
๐พ Matthew Springman
๐พ Claudio
๐พ Oscar R.
๐พ jedi-or-sith
๐พ Nattira Maneerat
๐พ Justin Hual
--
Learn to code for free and get a developer job: https://www.freecodecamp.org
Read hundreds of articles on programming: https://freecodecamp.org/news
This course was developed by Thanishkka. She is part of Hack Club. Hack Club is a global non-profit organization that creates a community for high school students interested in coding and making things with technology.
Hack Club is free and any teenager can join. Check out their site to get stickers and learn more: https://hackclub.com/
โญ๏ธ Contents โญ๏ธ
- 00:00 Introduction: What is Cryptography?
- 00:36 About Hack Club and the Course Creator
- 01:09 Cryptography Basics & Cybershe Demo
- 02:26 Three Main Areas: Hashing, Symmetric, and Asymmetric Encryption
- 03:09 Deep Dive into Hashing (SHA 256) and File Integrity
- 04:37 Symmetric Encryption with AES (Key, IV, and Modes)
- 07:20 Asymmetric Encryption with RSA (Public and Private Keys)
- 09:37 Setup: Python and VS Code Installation
- 10:40 Creating and Activating a Virtual Environment
- 12:15 Installing Required Python Libraries (cryptography, zxcvbn, bcrypt)
- 13:46 Coding the File Hashing Function (hash.py)
- 18:36 Coding the File Integrity Verification Function
- 22:05 Coding AES Symmetric Encryption/Decryption (encryption.py)
- 26:26 Coding RSA Asymmetric Encryption/Decryption
- 30:03 Coding the Password Strength Checker (password.py)
- 35:28 Coding Password Hashing and Verification (using bcrypt)
- 39:27 Building the Command Line UI (main.py)
- 47:26 Final Toolkit Demo and Testing
- 49:15 Conclusion and Next Steps
โค๏ธ Support for this channel comes from our friends at Scrimba โ the coding platform that's reinvented interactive learning: https://scrimba.com/freecodecamp
๐ Thanks to our Champion and Sponsor supporters:
๐พ Drake Milly
๐พ Ulises Moralez
๐พ Goddard Tan
๐พ David MG
๐พ Matthew Springman
๐พ Claudio
๐พ Oscar R.
๐พ jedi-or-sith
๐พ Nattira Maneerat
๐พ Justin Hual
--
Learn to code for free and get a developer job: https://www.freecodecamp.org
Read hundreds of articles on programming: https://freecodecamp.org/news
Video Information
Views
1.9K
Likes
318
Duration
49:53
Published
Nov 4, 2025
User Reviews
4.5
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