Buy new:
$25.99$25.99
FREE delivery:
Wednesday, Feb 1
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Buy used: $16.59
Other Sellers on Amazon
+ $3.99 shipping
91% positive over last 12 months
+ $5.76 shipping
89% positive over last 12 months
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the Authors
OK
Practical Cryptography 1st Edition
| Price | New from | Used from |
- Kindle
$25.99 Read with Our Free App - Hardcover
$40.607 Used from $36.62 - Paperback
$16.59 - $25.9923 Used from $5.03 15 New from $21.75
Enhance your purchase
Niels Ferguson (Amsterdam, Netherlands) is a cryptographic engineer and consultant at Counterpane Internet Security. He has extensive experience in the creation and design of security algorithms, protocols, and multinational security infrastructures. Previously, Ferguson was a cryptographer for DigiCash and CWI. At CWI he developed the first generation of off-line payment protocols. He has published numerous scientific papers.
Bruce Schneier (Minneapolis, MN) is Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Counterpane Internet Security, a managed-security monitoring company. He is also the author of Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World (0-471-25311-1).
- ISBN-100471223573
- ISBN-13978-0471223573
- Edition1st
- PublisherWiley
- Publication dateMarch 28, 2003
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions7.2 x 1 x 9.1 inches
- Print length432 pages
Frequently bought together

- +
- +
What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
In todays world, security is a top concern for businesses worldwide. Without a secure computer system, you dont make money, you dont expand, andbottom lineyou dont survive. Cryptography holds great promise as the technology to provide security in cyberspace. Amazingly enough, no literature exists about how to implement cryptography and how to incorporate it into real-world systems. With Practical Cryptography, an author team of international renown provides you with the first hands-on cryptographic product implementation guide, bridging the gap between cryptographic theory and real-world cryptographic applications.
This follow-up guide to the bestselling Applied Cryptography dives in and explains the how-to of cryptography. Youll find discussions on:
- Practical rules for choosing and using cryptographic primitives, from block ciphers to digital signatures
- Implementing cryptographic algorithms and systems in a secure way on todays computers
- A consistent design philosophy to ensure that every part of the system achieves the required security level
- Why security affects every part of the system, and why it has to be a primary goal of the project
- How simple interfaces for cryptographic primitives reduce system complexity and increase system security
From the Back Cover
In todays world, security is a top concern for businesses worldwide. Without a secure computer system, you dont make money, you dont expand, andbottom lineyou dont survive. Cryptography holds great promise as the technology to provide security in cyberspace. Amazingly enough, no literature exists about how to implement cryptography and how to incorporate it into real-world systems. With Practical Cryptography, an author team of international renown provides you with the first hands-on cryptographic product implementation guide, bridging the gap between cryptographic theory and real-world cryptographic applications.
This follow-up guide to the bestselling Applied Cryptography dives in and explains the how-to of cryptography. Youll find discussions on:
- Practical rules for choosing and using cryptographic primitives, from block ciphers to digital signatures
- Implementing cryptographic algorithms and systems in a secure way on todays computers
- A consistent design philosophy to ensure that every part of the system achieves the required security level
- Why security affects every part of the system, and why it has to be a primary goal of the project
- How simple interfaces for cryptographic primitives reduce system complexity and increase system security
About the Author
BRUCE SCHNEIER is founder and chief technical officer at Counterpane Internet Security, a managed-security monitoring company. A world-renowned scientist, security expert, and lecturer, he is the author of Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World and Applied Cryptography (both from Wiley).
Product details
- Publisher : Wiley; 1st edition (March 28, 2003)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 432 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0471223573
- ISBN-13 : 978-0471223573
- Item Weight : 1.72 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.2 x 1 x 9.1 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #761,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #153 in Computer Cryptography
- #1,549 in Internet & Telecommunications
- #3,217 in Internet & Social Media
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Bruce Schneier is an internationally renowned security technologist, called a "security guru" by The Economist. He is the author of 12 books -- including "Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World" -- as well as hundreds of articles, essays, and academic papers. His influential newsletter "Crypto-Gram" and blog "Schneier on Security" are read by over 250,000 people. Schneier is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, a program fellow at the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and an Advisory Board member of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He is also the Chief Technology Officer of Resilient Systems, Inc.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Practical Cryptography does neither of these things. It presents algorithm classes, why they exist, and what the best known algorithms are in each class. It explains how the various strengths and weaknesses of algorithms in each class combine to make a cryptosystem weaker or stronger. Then it goes on to show you how to use that information to build working cryptosystems.
This book is NOT a careful discussion of the implementation details or plusses and minuses of particular algorithms. They give detailed implementation instructions and advice for some algorithms (such as RSA or Diffie-Hellman) that tend to end up being misunderstood or implemented poorly, but the main focus of the book is about putting all the information together to build a real system. This is something that I feel is sorely lacking in the field of cryptography as it stands in 2005 (when I last updated this review).
The book does have a flaw. The authors present several algorithms and techniques that they recently invented and are not 'tried-and-true'. They present good arguments as to why they're secure. But the only real test of such things is lots of peer review and real-world testing. And, since they're new, they haven't been tested in that way.
People have complained about the book's seeming schizophrenia. On one hand, the authors are trying to show you how to build a secure cryptosystem. On the other, they're telling you how hopeless a task it is to build one that has no vulnerabilities, even if you're an expert in such things.
This can be annoying, but I more find it refreshing. Writing a secure cryptosystem is very hard. People should be aware that it is hard, and they are likely to make mistakes. It isn't something that should be attempted lightly. The current state of computer security is depressingly abysmal. People should be encouraged, as much as possible, to not contribute to the problem.
I'm not following my own advice, and I am building a new cryptosystem. I have found this book a more valuable resource than any other book on cryptography that I have yet read. Even if you aren't building your own cryptosystem, I think you will find the insights this book has into complexity and design to be useful tools in evaluating other cryptosystems.
The authors take the readers with them as they design a secure communication system using existing algorithms and standards. You look over the shoulders of two experts in the field as they make decisions (e.g. AES vs. Serpent vs. Twofish) and explain them (e.g. AES is the IBM of algorithms, Serpent is the most secure, and Twofish is fast like AES but without the vulnerabilities).
There is an entire chapter devoted to "Implementation Issues" which includes some of the best information on software design I have ever read. In addition to the cryptography related information, the authors point out some flaws in traditional software development methodology. In fact, this book should be required reading for every computer science student and every practicing software engineer.
If you have had trouble understanding cryptography and cryptographic algorithms in the past, this book will fill in the gaps. The book very well written, which is a rarity in the field of cryptography. If you are a crypto-phile, you can actually read this book for entertainment.
In his first book, Applied Cryptography, Schneier dissected how cryptography worked. But there was a lot of hand-waving, such as "Alice implements a secure RNG" which worked for theoretical knowledge of cryptography, but weren't of much use to a programmer who needs to design something. Practical Cryptography is the "in depth" sequel to Applied Cryptography, and explains in detail a lot of the nuts and bolts of actually implementing good cryptography.
Top reviews from other countries
Just be warned that on the AMAZON.CO.UK site the book is displayed as being published in 2014 - which would be very cool.
Unfortunately it's published 2003 and this is obviously a mistake. So don't expect modern cryptographic primitives covered. Anyway it's well worth the read!
In general, Ferguson and Schneier's rather didactic approach works here, though occasionally I was left wishing for more detail. This book would most suit a programmer without much previous experience of cryptography, who needs to gain a working knowledge of cryptography without needing to wade through too much theory.
If you are new to this field or just want to improve your knowledge then this is the book for you.
Its simple and gets straight to the point without getting bogged down in all the maths.
I would describe it as a engineers/developers guide to Crypt and not a mathematicians one and as such I deals much more with the practical implementations.
I like the fact that the authors have opinions which lend a bit of context to what they are describing.
Highly recommended.









