Introduction to Cryptography with Coding Theory [Hardcover]

Wade Trappe (Author), Lawrence C. Washington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2002

This book assumes a minimal background in programming and a level of math sophistication equivalent to a course in linear algebra. It provides a flexible organization, as each chapter is modular and can be covered in any order. Using Mathematica, Maple, and MATLAB, computer examples included in an Appendix explain how to do computation and demonstrate important concepts. A full chapter on error correcting codes introduces the basic elements of coding theory. Other topics covered: Classical cryptosystems, basic number theory, the data encryption standard, AES: Rijndael, the RSA algorithm, discrete logarithms, digital signatures, e-commerce and digital cash, secret sharing schemes, games, zero knowledge techniques, key establishment protocols, information theory, elliptic curves, error correcting codes, quantum cryptography. For professionals in cryptography and network security.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This book assumes a minimal background in programming and a level of math sophistication equivalent to a course in linear algebra. It provides a flexible organization, as each chapter is modular and can be covered in any order. Using Mathematica, Maple, and MATLAB, computer examples included in an Appendix explain how to do computation and demonstrate important concepts. A full chapter on error correcting codes introduces the basic elements of coding theory. Other topics covered: Classical cryptosystems, basic number theory, the data encryption standard, AES: Rijndael, the RSA algorithm, discrete logarithms, digital signatures, e-commerce and digital cash, secret sharing schemes, games, zero knowledge techniques, key establishment protocols, information theory, elliptic curves, error correcting codes, quantum cryptography. For professionals in cryptography and network security.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is based on a course in cryptography at the upper level undergraduate and beginning graduate level that has been given at the University of Maryland since 1997. When designing the course, we decided on the following requirements.

* The course should be up-to-date and cover a broad selection of topics from a mathematical point of view.
* The material should be accessible to mathematically mature students having little background in number theory and computer programming.
* There should be examples involving numbers large enough to demonstrate how the algorithms really work.

We wanted to avoid concentrating solely on RSA and discrete logarithms, which would have made the course mostly a number theory course. We also did not want to teach a course on protocols and how to hack into friends' computers. That would have made the course less mathematical than desired.

There are numerous topics in cryptology that can be discussed in an introductory course. We have tried to include many of them. The chapters represent, for the most part, topics that were covered during the different semesters we taught the course. There is certainly more material here than could be treated in most one-semester courses. The first eight chapters represent the core of the material. The choice of which of the remaining chapters are used depends on the level of the students.

The chapters are numbered, thus giving them an ordering. However, except for Chapter 3 on number theory, which pervades the subject, the chapters are fairly independent of each other and can be covered in almost any reasonable order. Although we don't recommend doing so, a daring reader could possibly read Chapters 4 through 17 in reverse order, with only having to look ahead/behind a few times.

The chapters on Information Theory, Elliptic Curves, (quantum Methods, and Error Correcting Codes are somewhat more mathematical than the others. The chapter on Error Correcting Codes was included, at the suggestion of several reviewers, because courses that include introductions to both cryptology and coding theory are fairly common.

Computer examples. Suppose you want to give an example for RSA. You could choose two one-digit primes and pretend to be working with fifty-digit primes, or you could use your favorite software package to do an actual example with large primes. Or perhaps you are working with shift ciphers and are trying to decrypt a message by trying all 26 shifts of the ciphertext. This should also be done on a computer. At the end of the book are appendices containing Computer Examples written in each of Mathematica®, Maple®, and MATLAB® that show how to do such calculations. These languages were chosen because they are user friendly and do not require prior programming experience. Although the course has been taught successfully without computers, these examples are an integral part of the book and should be studied, if at all possible. Not only do they contain numerical examples of how to do certain computations but also they demonstrate important ideas and issues that arise. They were placed at the end of the book because of the logistic and aesthetic problems of including extensive computer examples in three languages at the ends of chapters.

Programs available in each of the three languages can be downloaded from the Web site
prenhall/washington

In a classroom, all that is needed is a computer (with one of the languages installed) and a projector in order to produce meaningful examples as the lecture is being given. Homework problems (the Computer Problems in various chapters) based on the software allow students to play with examples individually. Of course, students having more programming background could write their own programs instead.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 504 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1st edition (January 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130618144
• ISBN-13: 978-0130618146
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Software Design, Testing & Engineering > Coding Theory

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book needs lots of work!, October 31, 2006

By 

Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Cryptography with Coding Theory (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

The problems with this book are:
(1) The authors failed to explain the math involved in neither rigor nor
intuitive way. The authors frequently try to introduce algorithms before
explaining the concepts or definition.

(2) The book is a mixture of number theory, linear algebra, cryptography, mixed
almost randomly, without proper dependency logic. Neither cryptography algorithm,
no number theory or linear algebra concepts involved are explained clearly.

(3) It is more like a notebook taken by a student. It appears that the authors
simply submit the lecture notes for publication, none efforts were made to
turn a lecture notes to a published book.

Readers are not their students, they do not have access to the authors.
It appears to me that this is the only explaination, since I hate to doubt the
authors capability in writing a textbook in this field. I simply can not imagine
a competent professor in his field writing such a confusing textbook.

I hate to spend my time in writing this note, but this book wasted too much my time,
I just hope others will be lucky that I am. My knowledge in both math and CS are above
Master degree level.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, February 16, 2008

By 

Deha Peker (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Cryptography with Coding Theory (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who either is taking a course in cryptography in school or wants to learn about it. It is a very well written book which clarifies a lot of basic concepts. I bought it as it was recommended by my professor in school and managed to get an A in the course. It is a good book and I think it helped me come back after a lecture and find all the matter that I needed. Good reference material.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, April 28, 2011

By 

N. Mansouri "N. Mansouri" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Introduction to Cryptography with Coding Theory (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

This an excellant reference text-book for cryptography students and teachers, and could be by far the most comprehensive introductory level cryptography text-book. A welcome addition for every math/computer-science major's personal library.

Nema