Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C, Second Edition

Amazon.com

Cryptographic techniques have applications far beyond the obvious uses of encoding and decoding information. For Internet developers who need to know about capabilities, such as digital signatures, that depend on cryptographic techniques, there's no better overview than Applied Cryptography, the definitive book on the subject. Bruce Schneier covers general classes of cryptographic protocols and then specific techniques, detailing the inner workings of real-world cryptographic algorithms including the Data Encryption Standard and RSA public-key cryptosystems. The book includes source-code listings and extensive advice on the practical aspects of cryptography implementation, such as the importance of generating truly random numbers and of keeping keys secure.

Book Description

". . .the best introduction to cryptography I've ever seen. . . . The book the National Security Agency wanted never to be published. . . ." -Wired Magazine

". . .monumental . . . fascinating . . . comprehensive . . . the definitive work on cryptography for computer programmers . . ." -Dr. Dobb's Journal

". . .easily ranks as one of the most authoritative in its field." -PC Magazine

". . .the bible of code hackers." -The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog

This new edition of the cryptography classic provides you with a comprehensive survey of modern cryptography. The book details how programmers and electronic communications professionals can use cryptography-the technique of enciphering and deciphering messages-to maintain the privacy of computer data. It describes dozens of cryptography algorithms, gives practical advice on how to implement them into cryptographic software, and shows how they can be used to solve security problems. Covering the latest developments in practical cryptographic techniques, this new edition shows programmers who design computer applications, networks, and storage systems how they can build security into their software and systems.

What's new in the Second Edition?
* New information on the Clipper Chip, including ways to defeat the key escrow mechanism
* New encryption algorithms, including algorithms from the former Soviet Union and South Africa, and the RC4 stream cipher
* The latest protocols for digital signatures, authentication, secure elections, digital cash, and more
* More detailed information on key management and cryptographic implementations

Customer Reviews:

Dated but indespensible.......2007-08-02

Sadly, this book is more than a few years old. That said, it is still the finest single volume introduction to data security in the modern age. For clarity of description, for illustration, and for its success at communicating essential concepts and ideas without resorting entirely to mathematics, it is without peer.

Every so often I look on Amazon and hope that I'll find Schneier has penned a third edition, updating this work with the results of the AES selection process and all the other recent developments in this suddenly fast paced field. Alas, I don't think that's going to happen. But I'm not sure that it would really make any difference -- the field now evolves so swiftly that any detailed, thorough volume would be obsolete by the time it reaches the shelves.

So instead of looking for something more recent, pick up Applied Cryptography. Read it and keep it close at hand as a reference (mine is almost falling apart from years of loving use). Nothing presents the fundamentals as well. If you need to know about a new cipher, a new hash, a new encryption mode or protocol, that's what the Internet is for.

But to really understand the underlying ideas, techniques, challenges, risks, and rewards of cryptography, nothing finer exists.

The unique and original applied cryptography book!.......2007-06-27

This book is extremely complete. It briefly covers the history of cryptography. It describes the political implications of cryptography and finally it shows how cryptography can be used in applications and presents the different cryptographic algorithms.

The algorithm section starts with a number theory primer.Honestly, I have found it a little bit too thin to learn all the needed background to fully understand the algorithms but on the other side, you cannot expect a simple 600 pages book to provide that background in the latest mathematical research number theories. It has at least the merit that it did stimulate my curiosity about number theory when I have read the first edition of this book.

Another point that makes this book interesting is that at the end of each chapter presenting the various algorithms in a given category, you will get Bruce Schneier opinion on which algorithm is the best. Of course, this type of information usually become outdated real fast but it is interesting to follow his thought process and test his predictions as the book grow older.

So, if you are looking for your first cryptography book, it should be this one.

Easy to read, perfect level of detail........2007-06-07

Great Book! The author's style makes this very easy to follow, and he frequently clarifies on topics which are difficult to grasp. Most importantly, he writes from a practical point of view; the material is very grounded and applicable instead of being a math textbook. That being said, he cites over 1600 sources; the book is riddled with leads to sources with more complete coverage for those interested in the fine details. Though I have some programming experience, I don't intend to write any programs; but it is interesting to read the logic in code. It was my goal to learn about modern cryptography and I have achieved that and much more.

Excellent Introduction.......2007-03-12

This book is now in the thirteenth reprinting of it's second edition with more than a hundred thousand copies sold. It is the definitive book on cryptography from the standpoint of a general overview of what sending secret messages is all about. It is not specifically oriented to the developer, but is more general in nature. There is not enough here for the mathematically inclined to seriously research the background of all the various systems.

As such consider this to be an introductory book on cryptography in general with a bit of history, a bit of story telling, an analysis of various cryptographic protocols and systems. There is source code provided for nine common protocols, and an invitation to order a three disk system that has source code for several more algorithms, functions, systems and additional text on various subjects. This disk set can only be sent to US and Canada addresses because of export rules on cryptographic information.

This is the definitive book on the subject. The only complaint I have is that it could stand to be done over in a third edition that would bring it more up to date.

A must-have book for understanding Cryptography........2006-03-11

This book has really shed a lot of light on cryptography for me. I honestly can't put it down--I wish I had paid more attention in my statistics classes so I could be able to apply some of the stuff the author talks about better. I am about half way through the book, and I haven't gotten to the point where it's more of a chore than a pleasure to read it (something I can't about my other technical books).
Glancing through the C source code at the end of the book started me thinking on the code implementation in my efforts - although I used Java althrough my life. I am not much comfortable with the C code because I was hoping for more goodie examples. If you want some practical guidance..you may little bit uncomforatble as well. At the end of the day if you are serious about Cryptography then you really need to get a copy of this.

The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

Average customer rating:

The Code Book
Interesting, informative, geniously narrative, fascinating & enlightening.
Fun Read
A History of Ciphers, With Proper Credit for the Cracking of ENIGMA
great book

The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography
Simon Singh
Manufacturer: Anchor
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385495323
Release Date: 2000-08-29

Amazon.com

People love secrets. Ever since the first word was written, humans have sent coded messages to each other. In The Code Book, Simon Singh, author of the bestselling Fermat's Enigma, offers a peek into the world of cryptography and codes, from ancient texts through computer encryption. Singh's compelling history is woven through with stories of how codes and ciphers have played a vital role in warfare, politics, and royal intrigue. The major theme of The Code Book is what Singh calls "the ongoing evolutionary battle between codemakers and codebreakers," never more clear than in the chapters devoted to World War II. Cryptography came of age during that conflict, as secret communications became critical to both sides' success.

Confronted with the prospect of defeat, the Allied cryptanalysts had worked night and day to penetrate German ciphers. It would appear that fear was the main driving force, and that adversity is one of the foundations of successful codebreaking.

In the information age, the fear that drives cryptographic improvements is both capitalistic and libertarian--corporations need encryption to ensure that their secrets don't fall into the hands of competitors and regulators, and ordinary people need encryption to keep their everyday communications private in a free society. Similarly, the battles for greater decryption power come from said competitors and governments wary of insurrection.

The Code Book is an excellent primer for those wishing to understand how the human need for privacy has manifested itself through cryptography. Singh's accessible style and clear explanations of complex algorithms cut through the arcane mathematical details without oversimplifying. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

In his first book since the bestselling Fermat's Enigma, Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption, tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes have had on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen of Scots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers who helped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (and incredibly simple) logisitical breakthrough that made Internet commerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the most powerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy.

Throughout the text are clear technical and mathematical explanations, and portraits of the remarkable personalities who wrote and broke the world's most difficult codes. Accessible, compelling, and remarkably far-reaching, this book will forever alter your view of history and what drives it. It will also make yo wonder how private that e-mail you just sent really is.

Customer Reviews:

The Code Book.......2007-09-25

I found it interesting and well written. Relize Simon is a Brit, so slightly a different type of sentence structure. I found sometimes that I just could not put the book down. I found out about the book from MAA. It's a college Math Mag playing with Hamming Code. Got interested in the artical about the book and then purchased it. Out of the three cyrpto books I bought this was the best. Others focused on the mathmatics and were not translated well from German.

Interesting, informative, geniously narrative, fascinating & enlightening........2007-08-22

This great book might on one hand be seen as an introduction to
cryptography (producing codes) and cryptanalysis (breaking codes), and on
the other hand as an anthology of slightly dramatized biographies of
certain individuals, throughout the whole history of codes and ciphers,
related to corresponding major events.

The style of the book is a successful and well-structured mixture of
popular science at its best and somewhat rigorous descriptions of
concepts and algorithms of various complexity. It starts off with telling
the story of the so called 'cipher of Mary Queen of Scots', then
successively deals with, for instance, the initial invention of a
theoretically unbreakable code (through using random numbers) and its
practical drawbacks, the rise and fall of the Enigma code, the usage of
codes in the form of unusual (hopefully unknown to the enemy or opponent)
languages, the analysis of ancient forgotten languages, privacy issues
including safe transfering of code keys and, finally, ends with
discussions of modern, and possibly future, cryptography/cryptanalysis-
techniques based on quantum computers and theory.

Moreover, additional interesting, and in some instances somewhat more
technical, material is referred to several appendices.

Note: The swedish translated edition includes quite a lot of Sweden-specific
information. (Translator: Margareta Brogren.) In all respects this is a
most impressive piece of work!

Fun Read.......2007-08-10

Great Book! A fun read and very interesting. A history of code making and code breaking from the beginning until now.

A History of Ciphers, With Proper Credit for the Cracking of ENIGMA.......2007-08-07

Singh has provided the reader a delightful history of encryption, beginning with 16th-century codes, proceeding with the mechanized ones, and concluding with modern computer-based systems. He points out how modern encryption is being used to thwart the counterfeiting of dollars, and rejects the so-called Bible Code.

Singh also touches on the intricacies of language, and discusses the difficulty of deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphics. This involved the decoding of a language that no one speaks today, and one which has no close relatives among modern languages. He also has a fascinating account of the Navajo Indians and their unique language, and how their conversations were used to keep the Japanese in the dark during WWII.

When in comes to the German ENIGMA code of WWII, and in contrast to some English-language books on this subject, Singh gives credit squarely where it is due. He traces the Polish successes with code-breaking, beginning with the cracking of Russian codes by the Biuro Szyfrow (the Bureau of Ciphers) during the 1920 Polish-Bolshevik War (p. 144). In the years before WWII, a Polish team of mathematicians headed by Marian Rejewski recognizably solved the ENIGMA (p. 155). The Poles were ten years ahead of anyone else in this field (p. 160). The later successes of the British at Bletchley relied on Rejewski's work (p. 170), and followed the lead of the Poles (p. 243). Alan Turing followed Rejewski's strategy (p. 171).

great book.......2007-07-28

this book is one of the best books i have read in a while. it explanes everything you want tok now about cryptography and how to break the codes. this author knows his stuff.

Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government--Saving Privacy in the Digital Age

Average customer rating:

my question answered
Crypto for the Common Man - A Great Intro
Some parts Interesting, some parts boring
EXCELLENT and MOVING book about cryptography stars
Well-researched account

Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government--Saving Privacy in the Digital Age
Steven Levy
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670859508
Release Date: 2001-01-04

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

If the National Security Agency (NSA) had wanted to make sure that strong encryption would reach the masses, it couldn't have done much better than to tell the cranky geniuses of the world not to do it. Author Steven Levy, deservedly famous for his enlightening Hackers, tells the story of the cypherpunks, their foes, and their allies in Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government. From the determined research of Whitfield Diffie and Marty Hellman, in the face of the NSA's decades-old security lock, to the commercial world's turn-of-the-century embrace of encrypted e-commerce, Levy finds drama and intellectual challenge everywhere he looks. Although he writes, "Behind every great cryptographer, it seems, there is a driving pathology," his respect for the mathematicians and programmers who spearheaded public key encryption as the solution to Information Age privacy invasion shines throughout. Even the governmental bad guys are presented more as hapless control fetishists who lack the prescience to see the inevitability of strong encryption as more than a conspiracy of evil.

Each cryptological advance that was made outside the confines of the NSA's Fort Meade complex was met with increasing legislative and judicial resistance. Levy's storytelling acumen tugs the reader along through mathematical and legal hassles that would stop most narratives in their tracks--his words make even the depressingly silly Clipper chip fiasco vibrant. Hardcore privacy nerds will value Crypto as a review of 30 years of wrangling; those readers with less familiarity with the subject will find it a terrific and well-documented launching pad for further research. From notables like Phil Zimmerman to obscure but important figures like James Ellis, Crypto dishes the dirt on folks who know how to keep a secret. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

From the author who made "hackers" a household word, a groundbreaking book about the most hotly debated subject of the digital age.

Crypto is about privacy in the information age and about the nerds and visionaries who, nearly twenty years ago, predicted that the Internet's greatest virtue-free access to information-was also its most perilous drawback: a possible end to privacy.

Levy explores what turned out to be a decisive development in the crypto wars: the unlikely alliance between the computer geeks and big business as they fought the government's stranglehold on the keys to information in a networked world.

The players come alive here in a narrative that reads like the best of futuristic spy fiction. There is Whit Diffie, the long-haired Newton of crypto who invented the astounding "public key"solution; David Chaum, whose "anony-mous digital money"actually threatened the global financial infrastructure; and "cypherpunks"like Phil Zimmermann, who freely distributed military-strength codes under the nose of the U. S. government. There is also the first behind-the-scenes account of what the secretive National Security Agency really had in mind when it created the controversial "clipper chip"-and how the Clinton administration bungled the operation.

Cryptography-the use of secret codes-has traditionally been the province of puzzle geeks and government spies. But just in time for the Internet-which radically alters the way we share information-a band of outsiders triggered a revolution in this once-cloistered field. But this was a revolution that the government wanted to kill....

Customer Reviews:

my question answered.......2007-03-20

The computer age is truly here. Our money, identity and privacy are truly exposed. Having heard about the National Security Agency's battle to prevent the public use of secure cryptography, I really wanted to know if I could trust our government to let me have secure privacy.
History is an excellent teacher. You just have to get the facts and judge for yourself. This book does just that. It tells it's story in an unbiased manner, truly believable and logical.
I have found my answer. Read it and find yours.

Crypto for the Common Man - A Great Intro.......2006-10-26

Beside Hackers, Crypto is arguably Steven Levy's strongest work. Like Hackers, Levy captures an intimate sense of detail about the characters who fought to bring strong cryptography to the public. Yet, at the same time, he manages to put together a more coherent, linear history than he achieved with Hackers.

In the end, I failed to sense the tension that Levy claims - certainly this was a David vs. Goliath fight, against such formidable and shadowy opponents as the NSA, however he never really establishes a sense of "Oh, Jeez! What if they stop the crypto heroes?" I never really felt like the outcome was in question - but again, that's light criticism when weighed against the strength of the book.

Crypto does a great job conveying a very technically difficult subject - cryptography - which is, of course, one of the skills that cements Levy among the best popular technology writers of our generation. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in technology in general - and, although probably a little technically light for those closer to the subject, it remains a great way to get closer to the people that made it happen.

Some parts Interesting, some parts boring.......2006-07-30

Now days, communications are more secure than ever thanks to the pubic key crytographic system and the work of those people involve in this story. As you will see, the more bits a key has, most difficult is to break the code, since to factorize a big prime number is almost impossible. Well, that is what we currently know. Although in this book you have this history, I think the author put too much detail in things we are just going to forget soon, making the book a little boring.

EXCELLENT and MOVING book about cryptography stars.......2005-08-12

This author made a boring subject come alive! In addition, the writing actually made some the people interesting who focused mostly or solely on cryptography...ordinarily I would ignore single focus persons. But this book talked about their successes in a succint way that interested me.

This is a GREAT author. I read his book about the Macintosh and that is why I purchased this book. I am adding AES encryption to a Windows CE device...so cryptography interests me. I also purchased Hackers and will read it later.

Well-researched account.......2005-05-24

Light-hearted by nature, Steven Levy gives everything the proper treatment in an often amusing way without being irreverent, and he becomes serious where warranted.

This book presents a balanced perspective from both sides: privacy advocates who do not necessarily trust the government, and government authorities terrified of losing their precious wiretaps and other snooping capabilities. The actions of a few self-righteous, overzealous mavericks on both sides are recounted.

Examples of successful U.S. government eavesdropping are mentioned; for instance, it was monitoring that revealed that the Libyans were the bombers of Pan Am flight 103. There is example after example of how the antiquated, rigid NSA position that "crypto is munitions" stifled the ascendant American software industry in the 1990's by restricting exports, giving foreign competitors the edge, while the rest of the world already had strong crypto anyway! Asinine inconsistencies in the old export restrictions are cited. The players of the NSA, NIST, and Congress are named and events, from assembly bills to telling conversations, are recounted. I think most crypto enthusiasts will find this recap informative. It certainly filled in a lot of gaps for me!

The book does not pretend to be a primer on cryptography. Levy does his usual admirable job of reaching out to the masses with lay explanations and clever analogies, but this being specialized math, it will at times go over the heads of some readers. Levy has a good sense of how far to take a technical explanation before dropping it; he doesn't go around the bend. Historical cryptographic systems recounted in David Kahn's tome "The Codebreakers" are now passe, not just because computers do it faster, but also due to relatively recent mathematical discoveries. The chronology of those discoveries is told along with the human stories behind them --of those who yearned to understand the art of secret writing and came to realize that it boils down to hard adversarial mathematics.

The human story throughout is one of unassuming, unlikely geniuses whose discoveries got no immediate fanfare, rather taking decades to catch on. Today (ironically now that the patents have expired) those discoveries are in use every day by most people using the Internet, a cellular phone, or any other wireless device.

The book is at times dull. To me, the accounts of legislative machinations were slow-going but I don't see how they could be made more interesting.

Jim Bidzos is finally vindicated as a real hero of the crypto revolution (after being portrayed in a bad light in a book on PGP). Diffie/Hellman/Merkle, the Cypherpunks, anonymous remailers, Julf Helsingius and Penet, David Chaum and digital cash protocols, court decisions, the Clipper chip --it's all here.

Did government spooks discover public key crypto first, in secret? The book ends with the interesting and hitherto unknown story of James H. Ellis of the General Communications HQ, the British cousin of the NSA.

An index, a small glossary, and an appendix of references are included. Well done!

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

Average customer rating:

Terrific book
Fantastic book to read aloud
The Code Talker Review
A Good Book All Around!
Wow, what a book

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
Joseph Bruchac
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142405965
Release Date: 2006-07-06

Book Description

The United States is at war, and sixteen-year-old Ned Begay wants to join the cause—especially when he hears that Navajos are being specifically recruited by the Marine Corps. So he claims he's old enough to enlist, breezes his way through boot camp, and suddenly finds himself involved in a top-secret task, one that's exclusively performed by Navajos. He has become a code talker. Now Ned must brave some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with his native Navajo language as code, send crucial messages back and forth to aid in the conflict against Japan. His experiences in the Pacific—from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima and beyond—will leave him forever changed.

Customer Reviews:

Terrific book.......2007-09-28

Bruchac has created a terrific historic novel that has enough action for young male adults and enough history and research to appeal to an adult audience. Bruchac does a wonderful job of giving a sense of the complexities of growing up on a Navajo reservation in the first half of the book. The irony of a nation trying to wipe out the Navajo language but using it as a crucial means of communication during 20th century wars should not be lost on the reader while reading the second half of the book. Bruchac's narrator tells this tale in an even-keeled, even-tempered manner. The reader is allowed to gain his own sense of injustice our nation has inflicted upon its Native American population. Bruchac's description of the progression of America's involvement in World War II's Pacific campaign is well laid-out and dramatically presented. Highly recommended.

Fantastic book to read aloud.......2007-09-25

We read this book aloud while on a driving vacation through Navajo country in New Mexico and Arizona. My children (girl 10, boy 8 and girl 5) were completely enthralled with both the story and the insight into the Navajo people. Although a work of fiction, the book reads very convincingly as a memoir. The author succeeds admirably in relating the cultural challenges faced by patriotic Native Americans serving in the military as well a giving a non-romanticized portrayal of the realities faced by the soldiers who waged battle in the Pacific. We particularly appreciated the lighter moments -- one tale of boot-camp swimming "lessons" had the kids screaming with laughter. A great read pure and simple, but also one with good lessons to be learned.

The Code Talker Review.......2007-04-06

This book is a great part of history that makes you want to read more and more after every chapter. It teaches you about the Navajo marines of World War 2. Two words; spontaneous and action packed. I loved it when it was talking about the Kamikaze airplanes, atomic bomb, and the Pearl Harbor attack. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

A Good Book All Around!.......2007-03-08

I suggest reading this book if you are interested in the Navajo Code Talkers. I would rate it as 4 out of 5. The book has somewhat of a language conflict, because of the different languages spoken. To completely understand the book, you will want to read it twice.

The book tells of a Navajo who was forced to learn English as a young child. He was assigned an English name and was never aloud to speak Navajo. As he aged and went through High School the Japanese were starting a war with the United States. Because the Japanese would intercept all of the Americans messages there was no way to communicate. The U.S. started to recruit Navajo's because of the language they spoke: Navajo.

The author tells us of his journey through WWII and his heroic story of courage and bravery while fighting to communicate with the "Main land". As the story progresses the author meets new friends and finds buddies from home. He describes war very thoroughly. He also describes the loss of a friend and how devastating it can be, especially during war.

There is a long introduction to the book (about 70 pages) in which reads very slowly. After you get past the beginning it is a page turner. I have recommended this book to my whole class because of the authors stunning ability to compel thoughts and emotions during war and hard times.

This is a short read with lots of interesting facts that have never been aloud to be spoken. The book would be considered Historical-Fiction because of its small amount of fictional content. I liked this book a lot and think that you would too. If you like anything to do with history, I would suggest that you read this book.

Wow, what a book.......2007-02-08

I've always heard about the code talkers and how much they played a part in World War II. This story makes me feel as though I was in the mist of what was going on in Ned's life. What a wonderful book.

Making, Breaking Codes: Introduction to Cryptology

Average customer rating:

Essential book on the mathematics of cryptography
Difficult to understand
Great buy!
Actually 4.6
Excellent book on cryptology

Making, Breaking Codes: Introduction to Cryptology
Paul Garrett
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130303690

Book Description

This unique book explains the basic issues of classical and modern cryptography, and provides a self contained essential mathematical background in number theory, abstract algebra, and probability—with surveys of relevant parts of complexity theory and other things. A user-friendly, down-to-earth tone presents concretely motivated introductions to these topics. More detailed chapter topics include simple ciphers; applying ideas from probability; substitutions, transpositions, permutations; modern symmetric ciphers; the integers; prime numbers; powers and roots modulo primes; powers and roots for composite moduli; weakly multiplicative functions; quadratic symbols, quadratic reciprocity; pseudoprimes; groups; sketches of protocols; rings, fields, polynomials; cyclotomic polynomials, primitive roots; pseudo-random number generators; proofs concerning pseudoprimality; factorization attacks finite fields; and elliptic curves. For personnel in computer security, system administration, and information systems.

Customer Reviews:

Essential book on the mathematics of cryptography.......2006-06-20

This wonderful book lies between the layman's approach of "The Code Book" and "Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C", which takes an algorithmic approach to cryptography but glosses over the mathematical details. It is great for people who already understand the use of various cryptographic algorithms as depicted in "The Code Book", but want to understand the underpinning mathematics before they implement cryptography in code. It is the best of the applied math books on the subject, since it manages to explain the mathematics behind cryptography without getting bogged down in proofs. If cryptographic algorithms and implementations are your business, all three books are essential reading.

This book is a college level mathematics text that does a pretty good job of explaining the mathematics involved without assuming a lot in the way of background, but a preliminary course in abstract algebra would certainly be helpful. If I have any criticism of the book it is that there is a scarcity of actual numerical examples versus the multitude of unsolved exercises left to the student. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the mathematics of cryptography.

NOTE: A second edition of this book is due in February 2007. Preliminary information shows it to be 100 pages longer than this edition. Thus, if you have to buy the first edition now, you might want to get a used one and demand a lower price due to the limited lifespan this edition has.

Difficult to understand.......2006-05-06

I took this course at the U of Minn (where the author is a professor). He has a reputation of being a good professor and a good guy (and I have no reason to doubt it). Unfortunately, his book is very hard to understand. While packed chock full of information, it is written in a **very, very** dense style. It makes a lot of assumptions about your prior knowledge and there are few examples to illustrate the theory. While this may be OK for a grad student in math (or even a bright senior), it is definitely not sufficient for a non-math major and most undergrads.

Great buy!.......2003-04-27

Other than a few 1st edition errors and too small of an anwer key, the book is definitely worth the money. It has a very down-to-earth style which is great if you're using the book on your own like me. I'm using this book for the Siemman's Westinghouse Scholarship Competition, and I think it is a great book for anyone interested in Cryptology, whether they like math or not.

Actually 4.6.......2003-04-27

I like the book quite a bit because of the actual down-to-earth language Garrett uses. It is very nice since I'm using it on my own time. There some errors in the book, however. He also selects only about 25% of the questions to anwer in the key. He could show about 50% and give an explanation on how to find the answer. Other than that, there is nothing wrong with the book and those problems shouldn't keep you from buying it.

Excellent book on cryptology.......2003-04-16

Very good book. His explanation is very clear.
I recommand to anyone who wants to learn cryptology.
I think computer scientist will get the most benefits from
this book.

Average customer rating:

Good but not great history of cracking the naval enigma
Great writing, but limited mainly to Navy Enigma
A blow-by-blow account
The Whole Story
The other story of the breaking of Enigma

Enigma: The Battle for the Code
Hugh Sebag-Montefiore
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471490350

Book Description

ACCLAIM FOR ENIGMA

“CRACKING STUFF…VIVID AND HITHERTO UNKNOWN DETAILS.” – Sunday Times (London)

“IN A CROWD OF BOOKS DEALING WITH THE ALLIED BREAKING OF THE WORLD WAR II CIPHER MACHINE ENIGMA, HUGH SEBAG-MONTEFIORE HAS SCORED A SCOOP.” – Washington Post

Winston Churchill called the cracking of the German Enigma Code “the secret weapon that won the war.” Now, for the first time, noted British journalist Hugh-Sebag-Montefiore reveals the complete story of the breaking of the code by the Allies—the breaking that played a crucial role in the outcome of World War II.

This fascinating account relates the never-before-told, hair-raising stories of the heroic British and American sailors, spies, and secret agents who faced death in order to capture vital codebooks from sinking ships and snatch them from under the noses of Nazi officials. Sebag-Montefiore also relates new details about the genesis of the code, little-known facts about how the Poles first cracked the Luftwaffe’s version of the code (and then passed it along to the British), and the feverish activities at Bletchley Park, Based in part on documents recently unearthed from American and British archives—including previously confidential government files—and in part on unforgettable, firsthand accounts of surviving witnesses, Enigma unearths the stunning truth about the brilliant piece of decryption that changed history.

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Most histories of the cracking of the Enigma code focus on the work done by the codebreakers at Bletchley Park, Britain's famous counterintelligence station. In addition to providing new details about the genesis of the code and the activities at Bletchley, Enigma tells, for the first time, the hair-raising stories of those who put their lives on the line to give the codebreakers the materials they needed. While researching the book, noted British journalist Hugh Sebag-Montefiore tracked down many of the surviving players in the Enigma drama. These witnesses-some of them speaking on the record for the first time-provide unforgettable firsthand accounts, including gripping stories of the secret agents, naval officers, and ordinary seamen who faced death in order to snatch vital codebooks from under the noses of Nazi officials and from sinking ships.

Customer Reviews:

Good but not great history of cracking the naval enigma.......2007-05-06

Without a doubt the Allies' cracking the German enigma is one of the greatest, and perhaps the deciding, accomplishment of World War Two. Winston Churchill called the cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park the geese who consistently laid golden eggs, without ever cackling.

This history of the battle to break the naval enigma is a good book; thorough, well-researched, not excessively tedious (because the technical details are relegated to appendices.) All the same, I found the book to be akin to reading a corporate history; the capture of U-boats and other boats with code books, the sinking of ships, and betrayal of secrets becomes repetitive. If this really interests you, you'll really like the book. Alas, I think that a good book could have been a great book if it had also gone into further detail than to simply mention that the Germans had also cracked some of the Allies' naval codes.

Crypto and history buffs will enjoy this book; the less enthusiastic will probably find it a slog.

Great writing, but limited mainly to Navy Enigma.......2006-04-24

Mr Sebag-Montefiore is an excellent story teller. It is diffcult to put this book aside.

In contrast to other books on Enigma the technical details of the breaking are given in Appendixes, which makes reading easier. This is a very good idea.

My only qualm is that the story is mainly that of the navy Enigma. Little is devoted to the air force and army Enigma, which is a pity.

A blow-by-blow account.......2004-08-03

The Ultra secret was kept for a long time after WWII. Recently declassified, it was the Allied code name for the Enigma ciphering system used by the Germans to coordinate U-boat attacks, to gather weather reports and intellegence, etc. This book is interesting in that the author gives ample space to the sailors and intellegence officers that gathered hard data, often from sinking U-boats, instead of focussing exclusively on the technical work performed at Bletchley Park. The result is an action-packed account that speeds through the material, while giving the reader a glimpse at the personalities and actions of the people responsible for solving the Enigma.

The book is arranged roughly chronologically, but Sebag-Montefiore divides his chapters into subject areas that span months at a time. This makes for a better flow. Therefore, the book backtracks from time-to-time, but it is never confusing, due to the skill of the author (and his editor). Oft-neglected episodes are included, much to the benefit of the book - because the U.S. and Britain were the two largest Allied powers, many books overlook contributions by other nations. Not so with this book - the Polish codebreakers that originally duplicated the Enigma and broke the peacetime ciphers are given more space than the celebrated Alan Turing. Likewise, the Canadian contribution to convoy duty (and therefore U-boat hunting and intellegence gathering from sinking U-boats) is given its rightful share of space.

The author wisely keeps the pace moving with events and doesn't allow the narrative to bog down in technical descriptions of the deciphering procedures. These procedures are gathered as appendices at the end of the book. The appendices are not great - they are descriptive without going into the mathematical detail, and therefore come across as "hand-waving." Luckily this difficulty does not detract from the main part of the book, so is not a fatal flaw, but those looking for a technical explanation should look elsewhere.

The Whole Story.......2004-04-14

"Enigma" by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore is an up-to-date look at the history of the cracking of the code, from the initial efforts in Poland through the final changes the German's made in May of 1945. The most impressive thing about this book is how comprehensive it is. The author covers all of the aspects of the code-breaking effort. Including some of the technical details involved in breaking the code, the personalities of those involved, the stories of their efforts to capture code books and equipment, and the effects that their efforts had on the war. The book is arranged in chronological order, with appendixes provided to give more of the detail of the technical aspects. The epilogue includes a wrap-up of what happened to the major participants after the war. This is a very worthwhile read for anyone interested in World War II and Enigma.

The other story of the breaking of Enigma.......2003-10-05

Whereas many other books concerned with Enigma have concentrated on the work of the cryptanalysts of Bletchley Park this deals with those other people crucial to the effort. The seamen of the Royal Navy, secret agents, Polish cryptanalysts and ironically the Germans.

If you are after the technical details of how Enigma worked and how it was cracked then don't get this book. But if you are interested in reading a gripping account of the events surrounding the Battle for the Code and the consequences thereof then this is a must.

Book Description

Experiment with cryptography — the science of secret writing. Cipher and decipher codes: transposition and polyalphabetical ciphers, famous codes, typewriter and telephone codes, codes that use playing cards, knots, and swizzle sticks...even invisible writing and sending messages through outer space. Hours of intrigue and challenge. 45 diagrams.

Customer Reviews:

Non-Mathematical Intro to Ciphers of Historical Interest.......2007-06-13

This is a good, well-written book requiring essentially no mathematical background. It's appropriate for teens and older folks interested ciphers. As another writer has pointed out, it's not current (this is a Dover reprint of a 1972 Simon & Schuster work), and the very few places where it says a code is still in use, it's likely not. I don't view this as a problem.

Ciphers are categorized and historical development is given. Invisible inks and the like are discussed, as are microdots, and SETI, though not by that name. Modern ciphers get no mention whatsoever--thus the non-mathematical nature. The approach doesn't consider computers to any real extent. Also, certain historical items that could have been covered, like the Enigma, aren't mentioned.

There are three weaknesses, IMHO, that keep it below 5 stars.
(1) Most of the ciphers presented have a set of possible setups, which can effectively be considered keys. E.g., the Caesar Cipher, using the Roman alphabet, has 25 different possible versions, which can be considered 25 different keys. Gardner makes no attempt to explain the relative complexities of breaking the various ciphers.
(2) The age.
(3) There is no index, but the table of contents is detailed.

I expect to use a few of these ciphers in introductory computing classes (think CS1, CS2) in the near future--the explanations are clear enough for undergrads with no real background and minimal interest.

Still Good.......2003-05-10

This book is a little out of date and a little too basic. It is for the beginner and is not an advanced text. The best thing that it is short. Because it is so short, it had to be packed densely with information, no wordiness. I've never had enough time to read The Codebreakers book, too big. Here I got informed in minimal time and the book is much less expensive -- it's got a better cost to read ratio and cost to information ratio.

Good basic codes, great for beginners........2002-09-28

This is a great reference of basic codes. Excellent explanations, examples. Don't expect anything too intense, and you won't be disappointed.

fun for beginners..........1999-07-04

Very well written. This book offers an introduction to "crypto-stuff" such as mono/polyalphabetic substitutions and grille methods. It doesn't go into much of anything else in huge detail, but it offers many methods including "how to build" your own encoding/decoding tools. If you're looking for some fun reading, I highly recommend it. If you're serious about learning though, check out "the code breakers" by kahn.

Very educational, practical introduction to codes & ciphers.......1999-02-05

This is a fascinating introductory book about codes and ciphers. It is very readable and understandable for young adults and older. Anyone who is interested in codes and ciphers will like, and want to own this book.

Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Code-breaking Computers (Popular Science)

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Rewriting the history of computing with Colossus
Good General History
Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Code Breaking Computers
Excellent Ground Breaking Book

Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Code-breaking Computers (Popular Science)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 019284055X

Book Description

At last - the secrets of Bletchley Park's powerful codebreaking computers. This is a history of Colossus, the world's first fully-functioning electronic digital computer. Colossus was used during the Second World War at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, where it played an invaluable role cracking enemy codes. Until very recently, much about the Colossus machine was shrouded in secrecy, largely because the codes that were employed remained in use by the British security services until a short time ago. This book has only become possible due to the recent declassification in the US of wartime documents. With an introductory essay on cryptography and the history of code-breaking by Simon Singh, this book reveals the workings of Colossus and the extraordinary staff at Bletchley Park through personal accounts by those who lived and worked with the computer. Among them is the testimony of Thomas Flowers, who was the architect of Colossus and whose personal account, written shortly before he died, is published here for the first time. Other essays consider the historical importance of this remarkable machine, and its impact on the generations of computing technology that followed.

Customer Reviews:

Rewriting the history of computing with Colossus.......2007-09-17

What if I told you that a secret project conducted more than 60 years ago held the true origins of the modern computing era? And that the country behind this project did such a good job erasing its tracks that it did itself a disservice? And that many of the things invented during this project would only be realized with modern-day PCs?

This book is a wonderful collection of first-person accounts and you get to see the enormity of the task and exactly how critical this effort was towards winning the war. If you got excited about crypto stuff in the DaVinci Code then you will have lots of hours of fun trying to work through the examples the authors provide.

Good General History.......2006-11-10

This provides a good general history of the breaking of the German Lorenz and (to a lesser extent) Siemens cipher teletypes, focusing mostly on the British methods using the Heath Robinson and Colossus tabulating machines driven by punched tapes. The breaking of these differed from the breaking of the Enigma machines in that the methods were probabilistic and statistical rather than the logical operations of the Turing and Welchman electromechanical Bombes, so that the mathematics (relegated to appendices) are very different. The appendices include the Swedish mathematician Arne Burling's breaking of the Siemens machine on leased cables from Norway through Sweden.

For understanding the mathematics, I prefer Harvey Cragon's "From Fish to Colossus" or Frank Carter's pamphlets sold by Bletchley Park, which seem to be currently unavailable, and Cragon includes descriptions (and schematics) of much of the circuitry of the Colossi. It is interesting to read in Copeland's book descriptions by many of those who actually made the breakthroughs.

Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Code Breaking Computers.......2006-11-06

This book is a copendium of histories from the people who were at Bletchley Park who actually did the code breaking. I found their stories facinating. There is also some moderately technical information that describes how the several code breaking machines worked. This is the first description that I have seen of the effort to break the codes associated with the German teletytpe system. I found the book facinating.

Excellent Ground Breaking Book.......2006-07-12

The story of the Bletchley Park code breaking efforts towards the German Enigma machine are well known. (If you are not familar the best book on the Enigma is:The German Enigma Cipher Machine: Beginnings, Success, and Ultimate Failure - ISBN 1-58053-996-3) Down through the years there have been only casual references to the Colossus machine that was used on the more sophisticated German coding machines.

At last enough material has been declassified to enable the story to be told. Dr. Copeland, Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing and author of some very good books on Alan Turing, has collected an amazing amount of information on Colossus. This has come from various sources, primarily in the form of short essays written by people who worked on or with Colossus during ther war.

This is an important book covering not only a little explored aspect of World War II but also an important step in the development of electronic computers. It also talks about how Colossus was held secret for so long that the important developments which it entailed might have helped Britain retain greater prosperity after the war.

An excellent, ground breaking book, highly recommended.

Foundations of Coding: Theory and Applications of Error-Correcting Codes with an Introduction to Cryptography and Information Theory

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Foundations of Coding: Theory and Applications of Error-Correcting Codes with an Introduction to Cryptography and Information Theory
Ji&rcaron;í Adámek
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471621870

Book Description

Although devoted to constructions of good codes for error control, secrecy or data compression, the emphasis is on the first direction. Introduces a number of important classes of error-detecting and error-correcting codes as well as their decoding methods. Background material on modern algebra is presented where required. The role of error-correcting codes in modern cryptography is treated as are data compression and other topics related to information theory. The definition-theorem proof style used in mathematics texts is employed through the book but formalism is avoided wherever possible.

The Code Book: How to Make It, Break It, Hack It, Crack It

Average customer rating:

Interesting book!
Sensational and erudite read!
Fascinating. Started me on my cryptologic studies.
Delightful
A must read for anyone remotely interested in codes!

The Code Book: How to Make It, Break It, Hack It, Crack It
Simon Singh
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385729138
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Amazon.com

Calling upon accounts of political intrigue and tales of life and death, author Simon Singh tells history's most fascinating story of deception and cunning: the science of cryptography--the encoding and decoding of private information. Based on The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography, this version has been abridged and slightly simplified for a younger audience. None of the appeal for curious problem-solving minds has been lost, though. From Julius Caesar to the 10th-century Arabs; from Mary Queen of Scots to "Alice and Bob"; from the Germans' Enigma machine to the Navajo code talkers in World War II, Singh traces the use of code to protect--and betray--secrecy. Moving right into the present, he describes how the Information Age has provided a whole new set of challenges for cryptographers. How private are your e-mail communications? How secure is sending your credit card information over the Internet? And how much secrecy will the government tolerate? Complex but highly accessible, The Code Book will make readers see the past--and the future--in a whole new light. (Ages 14 and older)

Book Description

It’s known as the science of secrecy. Cryptography: the encoding and decoding of private information. And it is history’s most fascinating story of intrigue and cunning. From Julius Caesar and his Caesar Cipher to the code used by Mary Queen of Scots and her conspiracy to the use of the Engima machine during the Second World War, Simon Singh follows the evolution of secret writing.

Accessible, compelling, and timely, this international bestseller, now adapted for young people, is sure to make readers see the past—and the future—in a whole new way.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting book!.......2007-04-07

Singh relates a plenty of interesting facts of the history of cryptography that were kept secret for a long time. Besides, a good introduction to the idea of some simple cryptographic schemes gives the reader a little bit of the thrill that involve the study of codes. Although I liked the book very much, in my opinion, the title does not reflect what's inside: actually, you don't lear how to make, break, hack or crack anything.

Sensational and erudite read!.......2007-01-13

This book is a great read for anyone wanting to "tickle" their brain with the basic knowledge and background of cryptography. I was very impressed with the way the author presented the information and giving credit where credit is due. He only lays down the facts. From Egyptian hieroglyphics, to the enigma encoder, to modern RSA encryption the author acutely explains the origin, their creator and/or breaker for some of the most well known forms of encryptions. The Code Book is very moderately priced for the information it contains. Great read from any stand point.

***WARNING ANSWERS TO FIRST CIPHER IN BACK OF BOOK BELOW***
*** DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER***
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CRYPTOGRAM 1

I Cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Winston Churchill.

Fascinating. Started me on my cryptologic studies........2002-10-09

Reading this book gave me my start in my self study of cryptography, its science and its history. While I will not pretend to be anywhere near an expert on the subject, I found this book very insightful. It is an easy read, and not tedious in any way. It is meant as a "science for non-scientists" type book, and more of a history than anything else. (I have only managed to solve the first two cryptologic challenges at the end of this book, but am diligently working on the rest in my spare time.)

Delightful.......2002-06-29

The Code Book is a delightful treatment of the subject of cryptography. It is a nice combination of history, science, warfare and politics.

The author uses interesting historical events as background to narrate the different phases of what might be called the mainstream developments of cryptography and cryptanalysis. It is a captivating presentation.

The book started off with the story of Queen Mary of Scotland, and went on to cover the Caesar cipher, Vigenère cipher, the famous Enigma, the super-secret Colossus, and the modern day computer based encryption and decryption developments. The author also threw in a couple of interesting "sideline" stories, such as the Beale cipher, the Rosetta Stone, and the Navajo "code talkers" who played a key role in the Pacific theater during WWII.

My teenage son used to complain that most of the difficult subjects he learned in school would never have any use in real life. I gave him a copy of this book. The book is a compelling story of how science, engineering, mathematics, computer, linguistics, psychology are all critical pieces of this all-important game.

There are more technical treatises on this subject, and there are more lengthy and nuanced historical accounts on military intelligence as well. But this book is undoubtedly the best introduction to this uniquely fascinating subject.

A must read for anyone remotely interested in codes!.......2002-05-12

I have always been fascinated by codes and Singh has put together a comprehensive book on the history of codes. Having read many books on codes, Singh was still able to enthrall me with some historical stories that I had not come across. It's not just technical stuff, but is written with the novice in mind as well. But the book holds enough technical information to keep the enthusiast interested as well. The version I bought has a crypt contest in the back, which I enjoyed working on - I was only able to solve the first 3 or so puzzles, but it was a lot of fun.

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