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Very Short Introductions #068
Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction
*Running Time => 4 hrs. and 26 mins.*
This audiobook is a clear and informative introduction to cryptography and data protection - subjects of considerable social and political importance. It explains what algorithms do, how they are used, the risks associated with using them, and why governments should be concerned. Important areas are highlighted, such as Stream Ciphers, block ciphers, public key algorithms, digital signatures, and applications such as e-commerce. This edition highlights the explosive impact of cryptography on modern society, with, for example, the evolution of the internet and the introduction of more sophisticated banking methods.
This audiobook is a clear and informative introduction to cryptography and data protection - subjects of considerable social and political importance. It explains what algorithms do, how they are used, the risks associated with using them, and why governments should be concerned. Important areas are highlighted, such as Stream Ciphers, block ciphers, public key algorithms, digital signatures, and applications such as e-commerce. This edition highlights the explosive impact of cryptography on modern society, with, for example, the evolution of the internet and the introduction of more sophisticated banking methods.
4 pages, Audible Audio
First published May 30, 2002
95 people are currently reading
1508 people want to read
About the author
Fred C. Piper
5 books5 followersProfessor Fred Piper was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the University of London in 1975 and has worked in information security since 1979. In 1985, he formed a company, Codes & Ciphers Ltd, which offers consultancy advice in all aspects of information security. He has acted as a consultant to over 80 companies including a number of financial institutions and major industrial companies in the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, South Africa and the USA.
The consultancy work has been varied and has included algorithm design and analysis, work on EFTPOS and ATM networks, data systems, security audits, risk analysis and the formulation of security policies. He has lectured worldwide on information security, both academically and commercially, has published more than 100 papers and is joint author of Cipher Systems (1982), one of the first books to be published on the subject of protection of communications, Secure Speech Communications (1985), Digital Signatures - Security & Controls (1999) and Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction (2002).
Fred has been a member of a number of DTI advisory groups. He has also served on a number of Foresight Crime Prevention Panels and task forces concerned with fraud control, security and privacy. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for Bletchley Park and the Board of the Institute of Information Security professionals. He is also a member of (ISC)2's European Advisory Board, the steering group of the DTI's Cyber Security KTN, ISSA's advisory panel and the BCS's Information Security Forum.
In 2002, he was awarded an IMA Gold Medal for "services to mathematics" and received an honorary CISSP for "leadership in Information Security". In 2003, Fred received an honorary CISM for "globally recognised leadership" and "contribution to the Information Security Profession".
In 2005 he was elected to the ISSA Hall of Fame. He was named Professional of the Year at the Communications in Business Awards 2005. In 2008 he was elected to be a Fellow of (ISC)2. In 2008 he was the first person to be elected to the InfoSecurity Europe Hall of Fame. In 2008 he was elected to the International Advisory Board of IMPACT (the International Multilateral Programme Against Cyber Threats).
The consultancy work has been varied and has included algorithm design and analysis, work on EFTPOS and ATM networks, data systems, security audits, risk analysis and the formulation of security policies. He has lectured worldwide on information security, both academically and commercially, has published more than 100 papers and is joint author of Cipher Systems (1982), one of the first books to be published on the subject of protection of communications, Secure Speech Communications (1985), Digital Signatures - Security & Controls (1999) and Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction (2002).
Fred has been a member of a number of DTI advisory groups. He has also served on a number of Foresight Crime Prevention Panels and task forces concerned with fraud control, security and privacy. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for Bletchley Park and the Board of the Institute of Information Security professionals. He is also a member of (ISC)2's European Advisory Board, the steering group of the DTI's Cyber Security KTN, ISSA's advisory panel and the BCS's Information Security Forum.
In 2002, he was awarded an IMA Gold Medal for "services to mathematics" and received an honorary CISSP for "leadership in Information Security". In 2003, Fred received an honorary CISM for "globally recognised leadership" and "contribution to the Information Security Profession".
In 2005 he was elected to the ISSA Hall of Fame. He was named Professional of the Year at the Communications in Business Awards 2005. In 2008 he was elected to be a Fellow of (ISC)2. In 2008 he was the first person to be elected to the InfoSecurity Europe Hall of Fame. In 2008 he was elected to the International Advisory Board of IMPACT (the International Multilateral Programme Against Cyber Threats).
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
July 2, 2016
I'll get to straight to the point. This book isn't really for beginners or laymen. The first couple chapters were illuminating, interesting, and understandable. But if you've never had any exposure to cryptography (especially the technical terms and acronyms/abbreviations), the last half of this book will be completely unintelligible to you. I was disappointed.
I'll start with the good stuff though. The basics of cryptography as well as the descriptions and explanations of various ciphers throughout history were really well explained and interesting. And the explanation of binary calculations at the beginning of the book was excellent too! At the very end of the book, there are some notes of resources (including websites) for furthers reading. That's cool too.
My main complaint is that things started to get complicated after the third chapter, and each acronym is defined exactly once. All the abbreviations seemed to be introduced at the same time. It was overwhelming. So I still understand nothing about cryptography and its algorithms as they're used practically today. I consider myself a persistent, thoughtful reader, and I have a light computer science background, but I couldn't make sense of hardly anything after the descriptions of basic ciphers.
I think this book is best for people with a strong computer science background who already know a thing or two about security. If you're completely new to cryptography and cyber security, you can still enjoy parts of this book, but it isn't an all-around good introduction.
What I got out of this book:
*Cryptography isn't about keeping outsiders from getting sensitive info, it's about making sure they can't understand what they see.
*The goal isn't always to make a system as secure as possible - just "secure enough".
*"Perfect secrecy" is when the number of messages and chances of guessing correctly are equal (the number of messages and number of keys are equal).
*Prime numbers are important in contemporary cyber security.
*An understanding of basic ciphers (e.g. the Caesar Cipher, homophonic coding, polyalphabetic coding, the Vernam Cipher)
*An understanding of binary calculations
I'll start with the good stuff though. The basics of cryptography as well as the descriptions and explanations of various ciphers throughout history were really well explained and interesting. And the explanation of binary calculations at the beginning of the book was excellent too! At the very end of the book, there are some notes of resources (including websites) for furthers reading. That's cool too.
My main complaint is that things started to get complicated after the third chapter, and each acronym is defined exactly once. All the abbreviations seemed to be introduced at the same time. It was overwhelming. So I still understand nothing about cryptography and its algorithms as they're used practically today. I consider myself a persistent, thoughtful reader, and I have a light computer science background, but I couldn't make sense of hardly anything after the descriptions of basic ciphers.
I think this book is best for people with a strong computer science background who already know a thing or two about security. If you're completely new to cryptography and cyber security, you can still enjoy parts of this book, but it isn't an all-around good introduction.
What I got out of this book:
*Cryptography isn't about keeping outsiders from getting sensitive info, it's about making sure they can't understand what they see.
*The goal isn't always to make a system as secure as possible - just "secure enough".
*"Perfect secrecy" is when the number of messages and chances of guessing correctly are equal (the number of messages and number of keys are equal).
*Prime numbers are important in contemporary cyber security.
*An understanding of basic ciphers (e.g. the Caesar Cipher, homophonic coding, polyalphabetic coding, the Vernam Cipher)
*An understanding of binary calculations
February 25, 2019
Description: This book is a clear and informative introduction to cryptography and data protection--subjects of considerable social and political importance. It explains what algorithms do, how they are used, the risks associated with using them, and why governments should be concerned. Important areas are highlighted, such as Stream Ciphers, block ciphers, public key algorithms, digital signatures, and applications such as e-commerce. This book highlights the explosive impact of cryptography on modern society, with, for example, the evolution of the internet and the introduction of more sophisticated banking methods.
September 18, 2024
I liked what was there, but I think book is 20+ years old and it definitely probably needs to be updated to account for us closing in on quantum computing, cryptocurrency, AI, etc. So good (4 stars) minus 1 star for age and lack of update. Still no regrets, it gave a nice survey of cryptography from a few decades back.
May 12, 2016
Was expecting this to be dry - was in fact quite good. Very practical as well - in the age of the internet, it pays to know how your information is being kept safe. The book is based on a university course aimed at trainee IT professionals, although it is getting to be out of date (2002).
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Understanding cryptography
Chapter 3: Historical algorithms: simple examples
Chapter 4: Unbreakable ciphers?
Chapter 5: Modern algorithms
Chapter 6: Practical security
Chapter 7: Uses of cryptography
Chapter 8: Key management
Chapter 9: Cryptography in everyday life
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Understanding cryptography
Chapter 3: Historical algorithms: simple examples
Chapter 4: Unbreakable ciphers?
Chapter 5: Modern algorithms
Chapter 6: Practical security
Chapter 7: Uses of cryptography
Chapter 8: Key management
Chapter 9: Cryptography in everyday life
May 30, 2016
التشفير قديم في تاريخ الحروب، فقد استخدمته ماري ملكة اسكتلندا لبعث رسائل لأنصارها في القرن ال١٦ للتحضير لاغتيال الملكة إليزابيث وإزاحتها من العرش، لكن فك الشيفرة كان كفيلاً بالفتك بها وبمخططاتها، وكذلك استخدمت القوات الألمانية جهاز إنجيما لتشفير المراسلات العسكرية والتي كانت تستخدم أكثر من ١٠ أس ٢٠ مفتاح وهو ما يزيد على الخوارزميات الحديثة، إلا إن أخطاء النظام مكنت الحلفاء من فكها فاختصرت سنتين من فترة الحرب العالمية كما يقال.
لعل أول مثال على الشيفرات هو ما ذكره يوليوس قيصر وهو التشفير بطريقة الإزاحة، فكل حرف يُمثل بالحرف الثالث الذي يأتي بعده في الترتيب الأبحدي، ولهذه الطريقة تطبيقات كثيرة في الشيفرات، ثم تلا ذلك شيفرات بلايفير و فيجنر وغيرها.
في عالم الخوارزميات الحديثة والتقنيات المعقدة فإن عالم الشيفرات عالم شيق للمشاهدين من بعيد و منهك للذين يقومون بفك ورصد ودراسة الشيفرات من قريب.
لعل أول مثال على الشيفرات هو ما ذكره يوليوس قيصر وهو التشفير بطريقة الإزاحة، فكل حرف يُمثل بالحرف الثالث الذي يأتي بعده في الترتيب الأبحدي، ولهذه الطريقة تطبيقات كثيرة في الشيفرات، ثم تلا ذلك شيفرات بلايفير و فيجنر وغيرها.
في عالم الخوارزميات الحديثة والتقنيات المعقدة فإن عالم الشيفرات عالم شيق للمشاهدين من بعيد و منهك للذين يقومون بفك ورصد ودراسة الشيفرات من قريب.
November 13, 2017
قد أعتبر إتمامي لهذا الكتاب من أهم إنجازات 2017 😂 انا خلصت أخر صفحة وانا نفسي مقطوع يعني وبنهج
ده لا يمكن يكون مقدمة قصيرة جدا لا
ف اول الكتاب كنت حاسة اني شبح وفاهمه كل حاجة ، لكن مرة واحدة كل الخيوط فلتت مني
لكن استعنت بالعم جوجل وفهمت بعض الأشياء ، لذا يعني يوما ما هرجع تاني للكتاب ده
4 نجمات لاني شيفاه عظيم جدا ، بغض النظر عن التدرج ف الصعوبة
لكن هو فتح لي أفاق جديدة ف تفكيري مكنتش اعرف انها موجودة!
ده لا يمكن يكون مقدمة قصيرة جدا لا
ف اول الكتاب كنت حاسة اني شبح وفاهمه كل حاجة ، لكن مرة واحدة كل الخيوط فلتت مني
لكن استعنت بالعم جوجل وفهمت بعض الأشياء ، لذا يعني يوما ما هرجع تاني للكتاب ده
4 نجمات لاني شيفاه عظيم جدا ، بغض النظر عن التدرج ف الصعوبة
لكن هو فتح لي أفاق جديدة ف تفكيري مكنتش اعرف انها موجودة!
April 21, 2018
This is an excellent and short introduction (155 pages!) into the world of Cryptography. Cryptography is the name of the science that concerns itself with secret coding (or encryption) of information to be protected from loss of confidentiality, integrity and authenticity. It is one the oldest sciences that nations and military used to concern themselves with as it is such a crucial and vital element of the war or even running governments.
To give you an example, breaking the Enigma cipher played a huge role in giving the Allied forces and the UK an upper hand in the war against Germany and it is believed it shortened the war by at least 2 years.
Lately, if you have not been keeping up with the news you would be very familiar with the NSA leaks by an ex-NSA employee named Edward Snowden. Security and privacy are becoming essential in the dawn of Mass Surveillance or the rise of Personal Information and Identity thefts online.
This book is not meant to be a technical primer. It is meant as an introduction that covers most aspects of encryption and the modern application of cryptography.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Understanding cryptography
Chapter 3: Historical algorithms: simple examples
Chapter 4: Unbreakable ciphers?
Chapter 5: Modern algorithms
Chapter 6: Practical security
Chapter 7: Uses of cryptography
Chapter 8: Key management
Chapter 9: Cryptography in everyday life
It was fun to read and also to listen to on Audible. I have so far read it twice or 3 times. Very short snippets of technical details which you can safely skip when needed without compromising your overall understanding of the subject.
As a Cyber Security specialist, I give it an easy 5 star as it made a daunting subject every newcomer avoids (like Maths) an easy and digestible subject and I was inclined to read the book multiple times without getting bored.
To give you an example, breaking the Enigma cipher played a huge role in giving the Allied forces and the UK an upper hand in the war against Germany and it is believed it shortened the war by at least 2 years.
Lately, if you have not been keeping up with the news you would be very familiar with the NSA leaks by an ex-NSA employee named Edward Snowden. Security and privacy are becoming essential in the dawn of Mass Surveillance or the rise of Personal Information and Identity thefts online.
This book is not meant to be a technical primer. It is meant as an introduction that covers most aspects of encryption and the modern application of cryptography.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Understanding cryptography
Chapter 3: Historical algorithms: simple examples
Chapter 4: Unbreakable ciphers?
Chapter 5: Modern algorithms
Chapter 6: Practical security
Chapter 7: Uses of cryptography
Chapter 8: Key management
Chapter 9: Cryptography in everyday life
It was fun to read and also to listen to on Audible. I have so far read it twice or 3 times. Very short snippets of technical details which you can safely skip when needed without compromising your overall understanding of the subject.
As a Cyber Security specialist, I give it an easy 5 star as it made a daunting subject every newcomer avoids (like Maths) an easy and digestible subject and I was inclined to read the book multiple times without getting bored.
November 7, 2017
يبدو أننا نألف التشفير خارج إطاره العلمي ونستخدمه دون أن نعي ذلك، بحيث يصعب على هذا العالم أستيعاب ما نقوله رغم نطقنا بنفس اللغة و توظيفنا نفس المفردات!
كانت روايات دان بروان بداية متواضعة لمعرفتنا بمصطلح التشفير، ولا بد من أشباع هذا التواضع ولو قليلاً من خلال كتاب علم التشفير، الذي يعتبر مقدمة قصيرة لكنه حتماً ليس بتلك البساطة التي توحي بها هذه التسمية، بل معظمه يحتاج لتطبيق عملي وهذا ما كان ينقصني..
علم التشفير هو علم تصميم أنظمة التشفير و تتمثل فكرة نظام التشفير في إخفاء المعلومات السرية بحيث يصبح معناها غير مفهوم إلى أي شخص آخر غير مصرح له بالأطلاع عليها.. تتكون الشفرة من "النص الأصلي" الذي يمثل المعلومات المُراد إخفاؤها، فيما يطلق على عملية إخفائفها أسم "عملية التشفير" ويطلق على النص الاصلي المشفر أسم "النص المشفر" او "بيان التشفير" و يطلق على مجموعة القواعد المستخدمة في تشفير معلومات النص الاصلي "خوارزمية التشفير" وعادة تعتمد هذه الخوارزمية على "مفتاح التشفير" الذي يمثل مدخلاً لها وللرسالة، وحتى يتمكن المتلقي من أسترجاع الرسالة من خلال النص المشفر يجب أن تتوفر " خوارزمية فك التشفير" التي عند أستخدامها مع "مفتاح فك التشفير" يتم استرجاع النص الاصلي من النص المشفر...
أستخدمت الشفرات منذ القدم لضمان سرية المراسلات وخصوصاً في الحروب ويعتبر يوليوس قيصير من أوائل مستخدمي التشفير حيث تعتمد شفرة قيصر على تمثيل الحرف في الترتيب الابجدي بالحرف الثالث الذي يليه ..تنتمي هذه الشفرة لنظام التشفير التقليدي المتناظر الذي يعتبر من أسهل الأنظمة وأقدمها ويعتمد على سرية مفتاح التشفير ..كما تعتبر شفرة أنيجما التي أستخدمتها الدولة النازية في الحرب العالمية الثانية من أشهر الشفرات و أعقدها ولكن بفضل عالم الرياضيات البريطاني آلان تورينغ الذي تمكن من صنع آلة أستطاعت فك شفرة الرسائل وبذلك أنقذ الكثير من الأرواح التي كان من الممكن أن تأكلها نيران الحرب.. ومن الجدير بالذكر أن قصة آلان تمثلت في فيلم سينمائي تحت عنوان
"The Imitation game"
يستخدم التشفير الآن على نطاق واسع لحماية معلومات الشركات و ضمان سريتها و يعتبر التصفح الآمن في الشبكة اهم سمات التجارة الالكترونية لذلك وضعت برامج تشفير خاصة لهذا الغرض.. ورغم قوة الشفرات الحديثة وتعقيدها إلا أنها تبقى قابلة للكسر والأختراق من قبل الهاكرز Hackers و كراكرز Crackers ..
أنصح بمشاهدة هذه السلسلة القصيرة جداً
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
وايضاً هذه الحلقة وتكملة باقي الحلقات..👍
https://youtu.be/deUQcOgE-xk
وهذا رابط الفيلم
https://youtu.be/seOyEitlMRg
February 9, 2017
قرأته وأنا عندي خلفية مسبقة عن الموضوع ولم أجده مقدمة قصيرة جداً كما يدّعي العنوان
أول مشكلة بهذا الكتاب كانت اللغة.. كانت صعبة وغير مفهومة غالباً.. فكان استخدام المصطلحات العلمية كثير وتمنيت لو يتم وضع المصطلح الانجليزي بين قوسين ليسهل الربط.
الشرح لم يكن ميسر ومستواه متقدم.
شعرت بالملل كثيراً بموضوع أعتبره من أمتع المواضيع التي مرت عليّ في حياتي الدراسية وكنت أتنمى أن يكون هذا الكتاب الذي أنصح به للمهتمين من غير المتخصصين.
اشتريت 3 كتب من نفس السلسلة وكنت متحمسة للعناوين جدا ولكن مع الأسف لا أعتقد أنهم قابلوا توقعاتي
أول مشكلة بهذا الكتاب كانت اللغة.. كانت صعبة وغير مفهومة غالباً.. فكان استخدام المصطلحات العلمية كثير وتمنيت لو يتم وضع المصطلح الانجليزي بين قوسين ليسهل الربط.
الشرح لم يكن ميسر ومستواه متقدم.
شعرت بالملل كثيراً بموضوع أعتبره من أمتع المواضيع التي مرت عليّ في حياتي الدراسية وكنت أتنمى أن يكون هذا الكتاب الذي أنصح به للمهتمين من غير المتخصصين.
اشتريت 3 كتب من نفس السلسلة وكنت متحمسة للعناوين جدا ولكن مع الأسف لا أعتقد أنهم قابلوا توقعاتي
December 27, 2012
An interesting insight, though I found it lacking in areas I would have been interested in more detail,and perhaps overly generous in others.
January 19, 2019
Since I like puzzles, a friend asked me if I had ever touched upon cryptography, which, as he called it, is the ultimate game of puzzle solving. I had not considered this point of view, but did acquiesce immediately that at the very least it must be important to learn about computer security in some detail, as all people can, on average, benefit from improving their computer security, and I'm not immune to the law of averages (or from bad password choices). The subject though, seemed intimidating to me, but the first few chapters are accessible to anyone. To go further,if you need illustrated examples and exercises like me (to grasp mathematical concepts, at least), it would help to use Khan Academy, which has excellent short videos and programs you can tinker with to see how the input and output changes. These are in the Computer Science section, under "Information theory". I've also recently seen EdX courses that might help the layperson like me, and both resources are free. It has also helped me to know, in recent years, that if you have a question, you can ask it on Quora. Overall, if you employ all resources at your disposal to learn more about a topic, success will follow.
May 27, 2018
Excellent introduction to cryptography and related aspects such as key management and public key infrastructure/certificate authorities. I especially liked that the authors tried to cover the entire subject in a holistic fashion instead of just focusing on one narrow application (such as encrypting messages). It is a non-technical book that nevertheless is easier to read if you have at least some basic knowledge of computers and maths.
My favorite part were the small exercises which made you think about different encryption mechanisms in a deep and meaningful way. Definitely recommend this book to anyone who's interested in the subject!
My favorite part were the small exercises which made you think about different encryption mechanisms in a deep and meaningful way. Definitely recommend this book to anyone who's interested in the subject!
August 12, 2019
Short Simple book about Cryptography and its different algorithms since the dawn of time till the modern day :p
From Caesar Cipher to modern block chains and certificates it was a great read and not that specific too mostly in layman terms without major math which was O.K but not giving you the whole picture on the subject which is not that bad as an introduction.
For more in depth study you can find courses on Coursera or Edx on the subject which I recommend to dive more into it and the different algorithms out there to encrypt data and have an understanding on how the modern world works and how it give the illusion of anonymity on the web and in life in general.
Good read!
From Caesar Cipher to modern block chains and certificates it was a great read and not that specific too mostly in layman terms without major math which was O.K but not giving you the whole picture on the subject which is not that bad as an introduction.
For more in depth study you can find courses on Coursera or Edx on the subject which I recommend to dive more into it and the different algorithms out there to encrypt data and have an understanding on how the modern world works and how it give the illusion of anonymity on the web and in life in general.
Good read!
Read
October 13, 2020كتاب يتحدث عن علم التشفير
ويعتبر كمقدمة قصيرة لفهمه!!
ويزعم الكاتب بأن الكتاب يستهدف
القارئ العادي. ولكن في الحقيقة
هو يستهدف الفئة المهتمة بهذا
العلم المعقد حسب رأيي.
-
بشكل عام الكتاب معقد جداً
ووجدت صعوبة بالغة في تكملته
يحتوي على معادلات رياضية
لفك تشفير الخوارزميات!
ومنها مسائل رياضية للقارئ
كي يحلها بنفسه!!
الفصول جميعها مفيدة جداً جداً
"لمن يهتم بهذا العلم المعقد"، وليس
لقارئ يبحث عن معلومات أمنية مفيدة
تفيده في تصفح الإنترنت!
فمن هو مهتم بعلم التشفير ولديه
خلفية جيدة، فهذا الكتاب مناسب له
ومن ليس لديه أي اهتمام نهائياً في
علم التشفير والخوارزميات والخ
فهذا الكتاب غير مفيد له أبداً.
ويعتبر كمقدمة قصيرة لفهمه!!
ويزعم الكاتب بأن الكتاب يستهدف
القارئ العادي. ولكن في الحقيقة
هو يستهدف الفئة المهتمة بهذا
العلم المعقد حسب رأيي.
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بشكل عام الكتاب معقد جداً
ووجدت صعوبة بالغة في تكملته
يحتوي على معادلات رياضية
لفك تشفير الخوارزميات!
ومنها مسائل رياضية للقارئ
كي يحلها بنفسه!!
الفصول جميعها مفيدة جداً جداً
"لمن يهتم بهذا العلم المعقد"، وليس
لقارئ يبحث عن معلومات أمنية مفيدة
تفيده في تصفح الإنترنت!
فمن هو مهتم بعلم التشفير ولديه
خلفية جيدة، فهذا الكتاب مناسب له
ومن ليس لديه أي اهتمام نهائياً في
علم التشفير والخوارزميات والخ
فهذا الكتاب غير مفيد له أبداً.
November 3, 2024
Really enjoyed this book, was a good introduction to cryptography and not too high level (some basic maths facts and work which made it helpful and interesting). Didn’t realise how old it was so probably outdated in parts but a good enough introduction.
Finished this very quickly as I thought the chapters were just the perfect length without going too detailed.
Would feel a second read through to be beneficial as the acronyms being defined just once makes it tricky to remember… but since this isn’t a text book I’m memorising from that is just fine.
Finished this very quickly as I thought the chapters were just the perfect length without going too detailed.
Would feel a second read through to be beneficial as the acronyms being defined just once makes it tricky to remember… but since this isn’t a text book I’m memorising from that is just fine.
July 27, 2021
Zastaralá kniha. V českém překladu (jen v českém?) překladu jsou navíc chyby v binárních číslech. Např. na straně 73 je pro číslo 9dec hodnota 11dec (1011bin). Na dalších stránkách jsou špatně výsledky operace XOR.
Výrazy jako "útok člověka uprostřed" jen dokreslují, jak překladatel o problematice asi nic neví.
Výrazy jako "útok člověka uprostřed" jen dokreslují, jak překladatel o problematice asi nic neví.
September 13, 2018
Good and concise (133 pages) intro to some cryptography fundamentals that is always good to review. All with quite interesting historical remarks (the confederates using a Vigenère cipher during the American civil war when was already broken!) and practical examples (GSM, ATMs, etc).
February 14, 2020
Bought this book after visiting Bletchley park. Good introduction to the topic, the authors make an effort to keep it simple and for me it was an easy read, however, it is important to point out that I have training in computer science and maths.
January 22, 2021
إطلالة رائعة حول علم التشفير و البرمجيات وكيفية عملها و تطورها التاريخي، كتاب في المستوى صراحة بحيت يفتح عينيك على الجانب الخفي من أمن البرامج والشبكات و التي هي بالأساس حماية للمستعملين من خطر القرصنة.
May 2, 2021
The first half of the book is quite good but the second half is not that great. The algorithms are poorly explained and could really use some additional illustrations. It's also pretty dated at this point, being almost two decades old.
October 17, 2017
As the title states - it a (very short) introduction. Although, it could be a bit more detailed on some topics (e.g. SSL).
April 3, 2019
I think it would be hard to follow for someone who didn't already know something about these topics, but glossed over details that would be interesting to someone who does.
September 16, 2019
Easy to understand and keep in mind.
September 24, 2019
Good intro to crypto, and great section about PKIs.
November 14, 2021
Great book. Fantastic.
December 13, 2022
On page 25
September 2, 2023
Cool to learn about binary n shi
November 30, 2024
I love these short introduction books. If you're not sure of interest in a topic just read a snippet to try it out.
Read
July 3, 2025DNF
October 11, 2025
يشرح التشفير بابسط طريقة
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews