Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security [Paperback]

Henk C.A. van Tilborg (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2005 | ISBN-10: 038723473X | ISBN-13: 978-0387234731 | Edition: 1

This comprehensive encyclopedia provides easy access to information on all aspects of cryptography and security. With an A–Z format of over 460 entries, 100+ international experts provide an accessible reference for those seeking entry into any aspect of the broad fields of cryptography and information security. Most entries in this preeminent work include useful literature references, providing more than 2500 references in total.

Topics for the encyclopedia were selected by a distinguished advisory board consisting of 18 of the world’s leading scholars and practitioners. Main subject areas include:

Authentication and identification.- Block ciphers and stream ciphers.- Computational issues.- Copy protection.- Cryptanalysis and security.- Cryptographic protocols.- Electronic payment and digital certificates.- Elliptic curve cryptography.- Factorization algorithms and primality tests.- Hash functions and MACs.- Historical systems.- Identity-based cryptography.- Implementation aspects for smart cards and standards.- Key management.- Multiparty computations like voting schemes.- Public key cryptography.- Quantum cryptography.- Secret sharing schemes.- Sequences.- Web security.

The style of the entries in the Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security is expository and tutorial rather than detailed and technical, making the book a practical resource for information security experts as well as professionals in other fields who need to access this vital information but who may not have time to work their way through an entire text on their topic of interest.

The underlying concepts in information security can be difficult to understand and may even be counter-intuitive. The Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security will become the premier reference work on this complex subject.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"Readers of this book will first be impressed by its size and high-quality binding. The first impression suggests a monumental piece of work … . Information security specialists will benefit by having this concise reference. … The real strength of the book is that it is an excellent reference; taking this reference along while traveling would be great … . this book is the best work reference available, and thus a must-have for all researchers and writers working with information technology (IT) security." (Edgar R. Weippl, Computing Reviews, May, 2006)

About the Author

Advisory Board Members

Carlisle Adams, Entrust, Inc.

Friedrich Bauer, Technische Universität München

Gerrit Bleumer, Francotyp-Postalia

Dan Boneh, Stanford University

Pascale Charpin, INRIA-Rocquencourt

Claude Crepeau, McGill University

Yvo Desmedt, University of London

Grigory Kabatiansky, Institute for Information Transmission Problems

Burt Kaliski, RSA Security

Peter Landrock, University of Aarhus

Patrick McDaniel, Penn State University

Alfred Menezes, University of Waterloo

David Naccache, Gemplus

Christof Paar, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Bart Preneel, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Jean-Jacques Quisquater, Université Catholique de Louvain

Kazue Sako, NEC Corporation

Berry Schoenmakers, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

Product Details

• Paperback: 684 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (August 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038723473X
• ISBN-13: 978-0387234731
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.9 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,830,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent coverage of crypto!, September 17, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security (Paperback)

For the acutely interested reader, this encylopedia is well worth perusing from cover to cover. It is not that long that this is an arduous task. Nor is it that highly mathematical that you will take months doing so. The level of mathematical treatment is moderate. By that I mean it is less than in journal papers. To be sure, you need a strong maths background going in. And previous exposure to various crypto ideas, notably public key infrastructure, would be good.

For Web usage, people worried about the rising levels of malware might see what the book offers as possible countermeasures. As ecommerce and other activities become more frequent, the possibility of man in the middle attacks increases. Plus, the incredible recent surge in phishing and pharming has led some to suggest that strong cryptographic methods for authentication of messages and web pages might be useful. Keep in mind that this is not necessarily a given. Other methods are possible which avoid cryptography. (I am the co-inventor of several of these methods.) This is something that an astute reader should keep in mind when going through the text. Step up from the details of the various crypto procedures and ask yourself if there are ways to avoid using these, and still prevent attacks. The entire mindset of this book is about using crypto. While it is a dreadful cliche to say 'think outside the box', perhaps you should try to do so here.

There is even a discussion of quantum cryptography. Which may be an ultimate, unbreakable method, if it ever becomes feasible. The quantum systems are so delicate, especially if coherence needs to be maintained over macroscopic distances, that one might reasonably wonder about the eventual efficacies. There are two main postulated usages. One is to break an existing encryption. The other is to prevent a man in the middle attack. It is in the latter that coherence may be more of a problem. For the former, one can imagine a spatially limited, microscopic or mesoscopic system, in which the decryption is occurring.