Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The integers
- 3 Cryptography based on the integer ring
- 4 Cryptography based on the discrete logarithm
- 5 Information-theoretic methods in cryptography
- 6 Block ciphers
- 7 Stream ciphers
- 8 Authentication and ownership protection
- 9 Groups, rings, and fields
- 10 Cryptography based on elliptic curves
- 11 Cryptography based on hyperelliptic curves
- 12 Cryptography based on bilinear pairings
- 13 Implementation
- 14 Cryptographic protocols for security and identification
- 15 More public-key cryptography
- References
- Index
1 - Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2014
- Frontmatter
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The integers
- 3 Cryptography based on the integer ring
- 4 Cryptography based on the discrete logarithm
- 5 Information-theoretic methods in cryptography
- 6 Block ciphers
- 7 Stream ciphers
- 8 Authentication and ownership protection
- 9 Groups, rings, and fields
- 10 Cryptography based on elliptic curves
- 11 Cryptography based on hyperelliptic curves
- 12 Cryptography based on bilinear pairings
- 13 Implementation
- 14 Cryptographic protocols for security and identification
- 15 More public-key cryptography
- References
- Index
Summary
Information and the communication of that information comprise the nerve system of civilization, and civilization depends on the availability of reliable methods for the protection of information from intruders and adversaries. There are many ways the collection and communication of information needs to be protected and made trustworthy. The requirements are central to the orderly functioning of society and may include secrecy, integrity, nonrepudiation, authentication, covertness, copy resistance, certification, authorization, and ownership protection. These various topics can be regarded as more or less distinct requirements, although of course there are considerable overlaps. Together they form the topic of secure communications. At the center of these various topics, as well as at the heart of this book, is the classical topic of cryptography.
Communication and cryptography are closely related topics in the general field of telecommunication. Communication is the process of exchanging data and messages. By itself, the term communication carries an active, positive tone and suggests cooperation and openness. Yet the process of communication does have its competitive, defensive side. The nature of social and economic interaction can impose a great variety of subtle requirements on the structure of a communication system to ensure various forms of security, privacy, and trustworthiness.
Secrecy and authentication are complementary functions in a communication system. Secrecy is the function that ensures that a message cannot be understood by an eavesdropper. Authentication is the function that ensures that the message originated with the indicated source of that message.
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- Cryptography and Secure Communication , pp. 1 - 31Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014