Handbook of Applied Cryptography

The Handbook of Applied Cryptography serves as a valuable reference for novices as well as for experts. It provides a multifunctional treatment that introduces the more practical aspects of both conventional and public-key cryptography, and offers a valuable source of techniques and algorithms for serious practitioners. The book contains enough abstraction for theoreticians and provides enough detail to actually allow implementation of the algorithms discussed. With outstanding organization that allows easy access to all information, it includes more than 200 algorithms and protocols, extensive cross referencing, and more than 1, 250 references that include brief comments on each entry.

Cryptography, in particular public-key cryptography, has emerged in the last 20 years as an important discipline that is not only the subject of an enormous amount of research, but provides the foundation for information security in many applications. Standards are emerging to meet the demands for cryptographic protection in most areas of data communications. Public-key cryptographic techniques are now in widespread use, especially in the financial services industry, in the public sector, and by individuals for their personal privacy, such as in electronic mail. This Handbook will serve as a valuable reference for the novice as well as for the expert who needs a wider scope of coverage within the area of cryptography. It is a necessary and timely guide for professionals who practice the art of cryptography.

The Handbook of Applied Cryptography provides a treatment that is multifunctional:

It serves as an introduction to the more practical aspects of both conventional and public-key cryptography

It is a valuable source of the latest techniques and algorithms for the serious practitioner

It provides an integrated treatment of the field, while still presenting each major topic as a self-contained unit

It provides a mathematical treatment to accompany practical discussions

It contains enough abstraction to be a valuable reference for theoreticians while containing enough detail to actually allow implementation of the algorithms discussed
Now in its third printing, this is the definitive cryptography reference that the novice as well as experienced developers, designers, researchers, engineers, computer scientists, and mathematicians alike will use.

Foreword by Ronald L. Rivest Overview of Cryptography Introduction Information security and cryptography Background on functions Functions(1-1, one-way, trapdoor one-way) Permutations Involutions Basic terminology and concepts Symmetric-key encryption Overview of block ciphers and stream ciphers Substitution ciphers and transposition ciphers Composition of ciphers Stream ciphers The key space Digital signatures Authentication and identification Identification Data origin authentication Public-key cryptography Public-key encryption The necessity of authentication in public-key systems Digital signatures from reversible public-key encryption Symmetric-key versus public-key cryptography Hash functions Protocols and mechanisms Key establishment, management, and certification Key management through symmetric-key techniques Key management through public-key techniques Trusted third parties and public-key certificates Pseudorandom numbers and sequences Classes of attacks and security models Attacks on encryption schemes Attacks on protocols Models for evaluating security Perspective for computational security Notes and further references Mathematical Background Probability theory Basic definitions Conditional probability Random variables Binomial distribution Birthday attacks Random mappings Information theory Entropy Mutual information Complexity theory Basic definitions Asymptotic notation Complexity classes Randomized algorithms Number theory The integers Algorithms in Z The integers modulo n Algorithms in Zn The Legendre and Jacobi symbols Blum integers Abstract algebra Groups Rings Fields Polynomial rings Vector spaces Finite fields Basic properties The Euclidean algorithm for polynomials Arithmetic of polynomials N