Cryptography

Cryptography is a part of everyday life for almost all of us, though we may not realise we're using it. We are a far cry from the historical prediction that cryptography would only be used by militaries and governments. With vast quantities of sensitive information transferred online by individuals, companies, organizations, and nation states, cryptography is increasingly important to everyone, and most of us, often without realising, use it daily. Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction demystifies the art of cryptography by tracing its historical use, explaining how it works, and providing examples of its practical use. These include online shopping, chip and PIN bank cards, and communicating via mobile phone. While many of these uses have been mainstream for some time now, the development and deployment of cryptography has changed enormously in the last twenty years. In this second edition, Sean Murphy and Rachel Player highlight the important advances in both academic cryptography research and its everyday use. Using non-technical language and without assuming advanced mathematical knowledge, they introduce symmetric and public-key cryptography and provide a detailed discussion of the design of cryptographic algorithms that are secure against quantum computers and the development of cryptographic algorithms with advanced functionalities. They also consider the new applications of cryptography such as blockchain, secure messaging apps, and electronic voting. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Cryptography is a part of everyday life for almost all of us, though we may not realise we're using it. We are a far cry from the historical prediction that cryptography would only be used by militaries and governments. With vast quantities of sensitive information transferred online by individuals, companies, organizations, and nation states, cryptography is increasingly important to everyone, and most of us, often without realising, use it daily. Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction demystifies the art of cryptography by tracing its historical use, explaining how it works, and providing examples of its practical use. These include online shopping, chip and PIN bank cards, and communicating via mobile phone. While many of these uses have been mainstream for some time now, the development and deployment of cryptography has changed enormously in the last twenty years. In this second edition, Sean Murphy and Rachel Player highlight the important advances in both academic cryptography research and its everyday use. Using non-technical language and without assuming advanced mathematical knowledge, they introduce symmetric and public-key cryptography and provide a detailed discussion of the design of cryptographic algorithms that are secure against quantum computers and the development of cryptographic algorithms with advanced functionalities. They also consider the new applications of cryptography such as blockchain, secure messaging apps, and electronic voting. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

A broad introduction to cryptography—what it is, how it really works, what its future holds, and why every informed citizen should understand its basics. We all keep secrets—from our gym locker codes to our email passwords to our online interactions. And we choose to share those secrets only with those whom we trust. So, too, do organizations, businesses, governments, and armies. In this fascinating book Cryptography , Panos Louridas provides a broad and accessible introduction to cryptography, the art and science of keeping and revealing secrets. Louridas explains just how cryptography works to keep our communications confidential, tracing it back all the way to its ancient roots. Then he follows its long and winding path to where we are today and reads the signs that point to where it may go tomorrow. A few years back, interest in cryptography was restricted to specialists. Today, as we all live our lives attuned to our digital footprint and the privacy issues it entails, it becomes more and more essential to have a basic understanding of cryptography and its applications to everyday life. Starting with classical cryptography, Cryptography takes the reader all the way up to the twenty-first century cryptographic applications that underpin our lives in the digital realm. Along the way, Louridas also explains concepts such as symmetric cryptography, asymmetric cryptography, cryptographic protocols and applications, and finally, quantum and post-Quantum cryptography as well as the links between cryptography and computer security.

A broad introduction to cryptography—what it is, how it really works, what its future holds, and why every informed citizen should understand its basics. We all keep secrets—from our gym locker codes to our email passwords to our online interactions. And we choose to share those secrets only with those whom we trust. So, too, do organizations, businesses, governments, and armies. In this fascinating book Cryptography , Panos Louridas provides a broad and accessible introduction to cryptography, the art and science of keeping and revealing secrets. Louridas explains just how cryptography works to keep our communications confidential, tracing it back all the way to its ancient roots. Then he follows its long and winding path to where we are today and reads the signs that point to where it may go tomorrow. A few years back, interest in cryptography was restricted to specialists. Today, as we all live our lives attuned to our digital footprint and the privacy issues it entails, it becomes more and more essential to have a basic understanding of cryptography and its applications to everyday life. Starting with classical cryptography, Cryptography takes the reader all the way up to the twenty-first century cryptographic applications that underpin our lives in the digital realm. Along the way, Louridas also explains concepts such as symmetric cryptography, asymmetric cryptography, cryptographic protocols and applications, and finally, quantum and post-Quantum cryptography as well as the links between cryptography and computer security.

Through three editions, Cryptography: Theory and Practice , has been embraced by instructors and students alike. It offers a comprehensive primer for the subject’s fundamentals while presenting the most current advances in cryptography. The authors offer comprehensive, in-depth treatment of the methods and protocols that are vital to safeguarding the seemingly infinite and increasing amount of information circulating around the world. Key Features of the Fourth Edition: New chapter on the exciting, emerging new area of post-quantum cryptography (Chapter 9). New high-level, nontechnical overview of the goals and tools of cryptography (Chapter 1). New mathematical appendix that summarizes definitions and main results on number theory and algebra (Appendix A). An expanded treatment of stream ciphers, including common design techniques along with coverage of Trivium. Interesting attacks on cryptosystems, including: padding oracle attack correlation attacks and algebraic attacks on stream ciphers attack on the DUAL-EC random bit generator that makes use of a trapdoor. A treatment of the sponge construction for hash functions and its use in the new SHA-3 hash standard. Methods of key distribution in sensor networks. The basics of visual cryptography, allowing a secure method to split a secret visual message into pieces (shares) that can later be combined to reconstruct the secret. The fundamental techniques cryptocurrencies, as used in Bitcoin and blockchain. The basics of the new methods employed in messaging protocols such as Signal, including deniability and Diffie-Hellman key ratcheting.

Through three editions, Cryptography: Theory and Practice , has been embraced by instructors and students alike. It offers a comprehensive primer for the subject’s fundamentals while presenting the most current advances in cryptography. The authors offer comprehensive, in-depth treatment of the methods and protocols that are vital to safeguarding the seemingly infinite and increasing amount of information circulating around the world. Key Features of the Fourth Edition: New chapter on the exciting, emerging new area of post-quantum cryptography (Chapter 9). New high-level, nontechnical overview of the goals and tools of cryptography (Chapter 1). New mathematical appendix that summarizes definitions and main results on number theory and algebra (Appendix A). An expanded treatment of stream ciphers, including common design techniques along with coverage of Trivium. Interesting attacks on cryptosystems, including: padding oracle attack correlation attacks and algebraic attacks on stream ciphers attack on the DUAL-EC random bit generator that makes use of a trapdoor. A treatment of the sponge construction for hash functions and its use in the new SHA-3 hash standard. Methods of key distribution in sensor networks. The basics of visual cryptography, allowing a secure method to split a secret visual message into pieces (shares) that can later be combined to reconstruct the secret. The fundamental techniques cryptocurrencies, as used in Bitcoin and blockchain. The basics of the new methods employed in messaging protocols such as Signal, including deniability and Diffie-Hellman key ratcheting.