Crypto Dictionary

Book excerpt: Crypto Dictionary is your full reference resource for all things cryptography. Cryptography from A5/0 to ZRTP Expand your mind—and your crypto knowledge—with the ultimate desktop dictionary for all things cryptography. Written by a globally recognized cryptographer for fellow experts and novices to the field alike, Crypto Dictionary is rigorous in its definitions, yet easy to read and laced with humor. You’ll find: A survey of crypto algorithms both widespread and niche, from RSA and DES to the USSR’s GOST cipher Trivia from the history of cryptography, such as the MINERVA backdoor in Crypto AG’s encryption algorithms, which may have let the US read the secret communications of foreign governments An explanation of why the reference to the Blowfish cipher in the TV show 24 makes absolutely no sense Discussions of numerous cryptographic attacks, like the slide attack and biclique attack (and the meaning of a crypto “attack”) Types of cryptographic proofs, such as zero-knowledge proofs of spacetime A polemic against referring to cryptocurrency as “crypto” A look toward the future of cryptography, with discussions of the threat of quantum computing poses to our current cryptosystems and a nod to post-quantum algorithms, such as lattice-based cryptographic schemes Or, flip to any random page and learn something new, interesting, and mind-boggling for fun. Organized alphabetically, with hundreds of incisive entries and illustrations at your fingertips, Crypto Dictionary is the crypto world go-to guide that you’ll always want within reach.