Introduction to Cryptography [Hardcover]

Johannes Buchmann (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387950346 | ISBN-13: 978-0387950341 | Publication Date: December 21, 2000 | Edition: 1

Cryptography is a key technology in electronic key systems. It is used to keep data secret, digitally sign documents, access control and other such areas. Therefore, users should not only know how its techniques work, but they must also be able to estimate its efficiency and security. Based on courses taught at Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany, this book explains the basic methods of modern cryptography. It is written for readers with only basic mathematical knowledge who are interested in modern cryptographic algorithms and their mathematical foundation. Several exercises are included following each chapter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

Zentralblatt Math

"[......] Of the three books under review, Buchmann's is by far the most sophisticated, complete and up-to-date. It was written for computer-science majors -  German ones at that - and might be rough going for all but the best American undergraduates. It is amazing how much Buchmann is able to do in under 300 pages: self-contained explanations of the relevant mathematics (with proofs); a systematic introduction to symmetric cryptosystems, including a detailed description and discussion of DES; a good treatment of primality testing, integer factorization, and algorithms for discrete logarithms, clearly written sections describing most of the major types of cryptosystems, and explanations of basic concepts of practical cryptography such as hash functions, message authentication codes, signatures, passwords, certification authorities, and certificate chains. This book is an excellent reference, and I believe that it would also be a good textbook for a course for mathematics or computer science majors, provided that the instructor is prepared to supplement it with more leisurely treatments of some of the topics."

N. Koblitz  (Seattle, WA)   - American Math. Society Monthly.

J.A. Buchmann

Introduction to Cryptography

"It gives a clear and systematic introduction into the subject whose popularity is ever increasing, and can be recommended to all who would like to learn about cryptography. The book contains many exercises and examples. It can be used as a textbook and is likely to become popular among students. The necessary definitions and concepts from algebra, number theory and probability theory are formulated, illustrated by examples and applied to cryptography." —ZENTRALBLATT MATH

"For those of use who wish to learn more about cryptography and/or to teach it, Johannes Buchmann has written this book. … The book is mathematically complete and a satisfying read. There are plenty of homework exercises … . This is a good book for upperclassmen, graduate students, and faculty. … This book makes a superior reference and a fine textbook." (Robert W. Vallin, MathDL, January, 2001)

"Buchmann’s book is a text on cryptography intended to be used at the undergraduate level. … the intended audiences of this book are ‘readers who want to learn about modern cryptographic algorithms and their mathematical foundations … . I enjoy reading this book. … Readers will find a good exposition of the techniques used in developing and analyzing these algorithms. … These make Buchmann’s text an excellent choice for self study or as a text for students … in elementary number theory and algebra." (Andrew C. Lee, SIGACT News, Vol. 34 (4), 2003)

From the reviews of the second edition:

"This is the english translation of the second edition of the author’s prominent german textbook ‘Einführung in die Kryptographie’. The original text grew out of several courses on cryptography given by the author at the Technical University Darmstadt; it is aimed at readers who want to learn about modern cryptographic techniques and its mathematical foundations … . As compared with the first edition the number of exercises has almost been doubled and some material … has been added." (R. Steinbauer, Monatshefte für Mathematik, Vol. 150 (4), 2007)

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Cryptography is a key technology in electronic key systems. It is used to keep data secret, digitally sign documents, access control, etc. Therefore, users should not only know how its techniques work, but they must also be able to estimate their efficiency and security. For this new edition, the author has updated the discussion of the security of encryption and signature schemes and recent advances in factoring and computing discrete logarithms. He has also added descriptions of time-memory trade of attacks and algebraic attacks on block ciphers, the Advanced Encryption Standard, the Secure Hash Algorithm, secret sharing schemes, and undeniable and blind signatures.

Johannes A. Buchmann is a Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at the Technical University of Darmstadt, and the Associate Editor of the Journal of Cryptology. In 1985, he received the Feodor Lynen Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Furthermore, he has received the most prestigious award in science in Germany, the Leibniz Award of the German Science Foundation.

About the first edition:

It is amazing how much Buchmann is able to do in under 300 pages: self-contained explanations of the relevant mathematics (with proofs); a systematic introduction to symmetric cryptosystems, including a detailed description and discussion of DES; a good treatment of primality testing, integer factorization, and algorithms for discrete logarithms; clearly written sections describing most of the major types of cryptosystems....This book is an excellent reference, and I believe it would also be a good textbook for a course for mathematics or computer science majors..."

-Neal Koblitz, The American Mathematical Monthly

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (December 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387950346
• ISBN-13: 978-0387950341
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but Brief Book, September 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Introduction to Cryptography (Hardcover)

Buchmann's text provides an excellect introduction to cryptography for those who are comfortable with mathematical rigour, and have some knowledge of number theory. Buchmann does provide a review for each of the number theoretic concepts he introduces throughout the text. However, one who is unfamiliar with number theory and not comfortable with learning by proofs might get lost. The other problem with the text is its brevity. This might be suitable for a class on cryptograpy, but it proves quite detremental to self-study. The brevity is especially problematic in the section dealing with Elliptic Curve Crypto (3 and 1/2 pages) Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is comfortable with rigour, and doesn't mind brevity.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do not adopt this book as your textbook, April 18, 2008

By 

Barbara Nostrand "Barbara Nostrand" (Syracuse, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Cryptography (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) (Paperback)

This book should not be adopted as a textbook for a course in cryptography. It demonstrates little to no copy editing. For example, the text switches from English to German within the same sentence. This book contains countless errors which are not even reported in the errata. Further, the book is terse to the point of not supporting the students. It presumes advanced knowledge of algebra which is not explained in the text itself. This is true when it discusses irreducible polynomials, polynomial division, and its very terse segment on Galois Theory in an early chapter.

I adopted this text for my course based in part on prior Amazon recommendations and the general reputation of the Springer UTM series. Please, do not adopt this book as a textbook unless and until Springer performs a major rewrite. My students impressions of this textbook were confirmed not only by myself, but by one of my colleagues in the department as well. This experience with this book was in a 600 level graduate course populated by both mathematics graduate students and computer science graduate students. All students are profoundly unhappy with this text.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst cryptography book I've ever seen, July 3, 2008

By 

W. Ghost (Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Cryptography (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) (Hardcover)

This book is horrible.
The text is ugly, some definitions are strange (for example, the author defines O-notation for complexity in a totally non-standard and non-intuitive way) and the reading the book is a pain.

Please use another Cryptography book. Good examples are Mao's Modern Cryptography: Theory and Practice) and Stinson's Cryptography: Theory and Practice for example. There are also the Handbook of Applied Cryptography and Foundations of Cryptography, volumes one and two.