Everyday Cryptography: Fundamental Principles and Applications

by Keith M. Martin

Cryptography is a vital technology that underpins the security of information in computer networks. This book presents a comprehensive introduction to the role that cryptography plays in providing information security for everyday technologies such as the Internet, mobile phones, Wi-Fi networks, payment cards, Tor, and Bitcoin.This book is intended to be introductory, self-contained, and widely accessible. It is suitable as a first read on cryptography. Almost no prior knowledge of mathematics is required since the book deliberately avoids the details of the mathematics techniques underpinning cryptographic mechanisms. Instead our focus will be on what a normal user or practitioner of information security needs to know about cryptography in order to understand the design and use of everyday cryptographic applications.By focusing on the fundamental principles of modern cryptography rather than the technical details of current cryptographic technology, the main part this book is relatively timeless, and illustrates the application of these principles by considering a number of contemporary applications of cryptography. Following the revelations of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the book considers the wider societal impact of use of cryptography and strategies for addressing this.A reader of this book will not only be able to understand the everyday use of cryptography, but also be able to interpret future developments in this fascinating and crucially important area of technology.

Genres: Science, Computers

706 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 27, 2012

About the author

Prof. Keith Martin is a professor of information security at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has broad research interests, with a focus on application of cryptography and geopolitical aspects of cyber security. Keith has authored three books on cryptography and cyber security, over 100 research publications in cyber security, as well as articles in the popular and professional press. He co-designed Royal Holloway’s online postgraduate programmes in cyber security and has overseen its cyber security doctoral programme. He has also presented courses on cyber security to a wide range of audiences, including specialist industrial short courses, the general public and schools.

Reviews

[Rebeka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Clear, concise and easy to understand even without a Maths degree. Would highly recommend to anyone learning about Cryptography.

[Abdul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of studying under the author himself during my Master's degree in Information Security at the Royal Holloway University.

Keith Martin is a brilliant mind, fun teacher and makes one of the hardest subjects seem so easy. His book comes to life during his lectures. I always had an appreciation for Cryptography but just like maths, avoided the under the hood stuff for fear of unnecessary complexity which might not directly help me in my day to day Information Security tasks. I was wrong. I now have deeper understanding and appreciation of security and cryptography and in the wake all too the common data breaches, Edward Snowden's revelations and Mass Surveillance state we live in, it is even more crucial to understand not only how to secure your personal information but also your company's data if you are working in the field. Choosing the right cryptographic protocols and applications is vital.

This book has little maths, if at all and manages to get you through cryptography from early days all the way to modern cryptography and real-world applications like how Bitcoin or Apple Pay work.

I have read it twice and it was the best book I have read in Cryptography. Highly recommended and not a dull technical book at all.

[عَبدُالكَرِيمْ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book you will read about Cryptography.

[Mustufa Kerawala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book to understand fundamental cryptography concepts. The book has a beautiful and concise way of illustrating most cryptographic concepts and the mathematics behind them. I’m no mathematician but this book has made me fall in love with the subject. I would highly recommend it to anyone

[Shahzad Iqbal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend to all cryptography students, those wants to understand mathematical equations behind cryptographic algorithms.

[Chris Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a clear overview of modern cryptographic primitives, protocols and key management. A good reference text for applied cryptographic work.

[JuDe JuDe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une excellente introduction à la cryptographie. Je recommande.

[. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Textbook-style writing with academic jargon. The actual content can fit in 20% size of the original text. Boring, theoric, and without guide on using standard cryptography tools.

[Luca Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stands up to the test of time

[Arnas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very in-depth book about fundamentals and techniques of cryptography. Recommend to those that have previous knowledge of cryptography.

[Ilenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book on cryptography but my midterm made me cry

[Juan Lupión · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo que te tenían que haber enseñado en la Universidad

...y si te lo enseñaron, un buen libro para refrescarlo todo. Desde la aritmética modular hasta el uso de cifrado en tarjetas de crédito.

[Sue Barwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am teaching a university course in cryptography, and this is an excellent text book. It covers all the material needed to train students who will be involved in cybersecurity in the work place, with lots of exercises for students to work on. The book focuses on the fundamental principles of cryptography, and does not look at the technical mathematical details of current cryptosystems. This makes it a suitable text book for students who do not have the pure mathematics background needed to understand the details. The author has many contacts in various industries, and this is evidenced in the broad and practical knowledge in the book. Importantly, the text is woven with a comprehensive reference list, including discussions relating to standards.

The book is also aimed at people wanting to learn more about the key issues facing users of cryptography. It is well written and easy to read, and accessible to anyone with an interest in cryptography.

[Augusto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good introduction to cryptography. I've been programming for quite a long time, and this book made me realise some mistakes I made while implementing cryptography in some systems.

The book doesn't talk at all about code, and has a very light touch on the maths behind some of the algorithms, but most importantly, explains how to use a cryptography correctly. By "correctly" I mean how not to do it, as otherwise we do have a false feeling that we are securing our data, when in fact anyone reading this (or a similar book) could perform a successful attack.

[Brendan]

No glossary, just read parts of

[Loui Downing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantasic, clear and concise. Got me through my masters.

[Herman Slatman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on Cryptography