Skip to main content
Top

2024 | Book

Understanding Cryptography

From Established Symmetric and Asymmetric Ciphers to Post-Quantum Algorithms

Authors: Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu

Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

insite
SEARCH

About this book

Understanding and employing cryptography has become central for securing virtually any digital application, whether user app, cloud service, or even medical implant.

Heavily revised and updated, the long-awaited second edition of Understanding Cryptography follows the unique approach of making modern cryptography accessible to a broad audience, requiring only a minimum of prior knowledge. After introducing basic cryptography concepts, this seminal textbook covers nearly all symmetric, asymmetric, and post-quantum cryptographic algorithms currently in use in applications—ranging from cloud computing and smart phones all the way to industrial systems, block chains, and cryptocurrencies.

Topics and features:

Opens with a foreword by cryptography pioneer and Turing Award winner, Ron RivestHelps develop a comprehensive understanding of modern applied cryptographyProvides a thorough introduction to post-quantum cryptography consisting of the three standardized cipher familiesIncludes for every chapter a comprehensive problem set, extensive examples, and a further-reading discussionCommunicates, using a unique pedagogical approach, the essentials about foundations and use in practice, while keeping mathematics to a minimumSupplies up-to-date security parameters for all cryptographic algorithmsIncorporates chapter reviews and discussion on such topics as historical and societal context

This must-have book is indispensable as a textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses, as well as for self-study by designers and engineers.

The authors have more than 20 years’ experience teaching cryptography at various universities in the US and Europe. In addition to being renowned scientists, they have extensive experience with applying cryptography in industry, fromwhich they have drawn important lessons for their teaching.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
1. Introduction to Cryptography and Data Security
Abstract
This section will introduce the most important terms of modern cryptology and will teach an important lesson about proprietary vs. openly known algorithms. We will also introduce modular arithmetic, which is useful for historical ciphers and of major importance in modern public-key cryptography.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
2. Stream Ciphers
Abstract
If we have a more detailed look at the types of cryptographic algorithms that exist, we see that symmetric ciphers can be divided into two families, stream ciphers and block ciphers, as shown in Figure 2.1.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
3. The Data Encryption Standard (DES) and Alternatives
Abstract
The Data Encryption Standard, or DES, was conceived in the early 1970s and can arguably be considered the first modern encryption algorithm. It was the most popular block cipher in the 1980s and 1990s.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
4. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
Abstract
The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is the most widely used symmetric cipher today. Even though the term “Standard” in its name originally only referred to U.S.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
5. More About Block Ciphers
Abstract
A block cipher is much more than just an encryption algorithm. It can be used as a versatile building block with which a diverse set of cryptographic mechanisms can be realized.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
6. Introduction to Public-Key Cryptography
Abstract
As we start to learn about public-key cryptography, let’s recall that the term publickey cryptography is used interchangeably with asymmetric cryptography; they both denote exactly the same thing and are used synonymously.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
7. The RSA Cryptosystem
Abstract
After Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman introduced public-key cryptography in their landmark 1976 paper, a new branch of cryptography suddenly opened up.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
8. Cryptosystems Based on the Discrete Logarithm Problem
Abstract
In the previous chapter we learned about the RSA public-key scheme, which is based on the hardness of factoring large integers.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
9. Elliptic Curve Cryptosystems
Abstract
Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) forms together with RSA and discrete logarithm schemes the third family of public-key algorithms that are currently widely used. ECC was introduced independently by Neal Koblitz and Victor Miller in the mid- 1980s, that is about 10 years later than RSA and the Diffie–Hellman key exchange.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
10. Digital Signatures
Abstract
Digital signatures are an important cryptographic tool and they are widely used today. Applications range from digital certificates for secure web browsing to secure software updates to signing of digital contracts that are legally binding.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
11. Hash Functions
Abstract
Hash functions are an important primitive in cryptography and are widely used in practice. They compute a digest of a message, which is a short, fixed-length bit string. For a particular message, this hash value can be seen as a fingerprint of the message, i.e., a unique representation of that message.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
12. Post-Quantum Cryptography
Abstract
The term post-quantum cryptography (PQC) was coined to describe alternative cryptosystems that are assumed to resist attacks using large-scale quantum computers. This is of particular importance for public-key cryptography since it is known that the families of cryptosystems currently used —that is RSA, discrete logarithm schemes such as the Diffie-Hellman key exchange and elliptic curves (cf.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
13. Message Authentication Codes (MACs)
Abstract
Message Authentication Codes (MAC), also known as a cryptographic checksums or keyed hash functions, are widely used in practice. In terms of security functionality, MACs share some properties with digital signatures, since they also provide message integrity and message authentication.
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
14. Key Management
Abstract
With the cryptographic mechanisms that we have learned so far, in particular symmetric and asymmetric encryption, digital signatures and message authentication codes (MACs), one can relatively easily achieve the basic security services introduced in Section 10.1.3:
Christof Paar, Jan Pelzl, Tim Güneysu
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Understanding Cryptography
Authors
Christof Paar
Jan Pelzl
Tim Güneysu
Copyright Year
2024
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN
978-3-662-69007-9
Print ISBN
978-3-662-69006-2
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-69007-9

Premium Partner