Product Description

Cryptography is of huge importance today as codes are used for securing the Internet, mobile phones and electronic transactions. This book traces the development of this science and describes the conflicts between those that want to keep codes weak and those who want strong codes available to all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #343529 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Author Steven Levy, deservedly famous for his enlightening Hackers, tells the story of the cypherpunks, their foes, and their allies in Crypto; if the National Security Agency (NSA) had wanted to make sure that strong encryption would reach the masses, it couldn't have done much better than to tell the cranky geniuses of the world not to do it.

From the determined research of Whitfield Diffie and Marty Hellman, in the face of the NSA's decades-old security lock, to the commercial world's turn-of-the-century embrace of encrypted e-commerce, Levy finds drama and intellectual challenge everywhere he looks. Although he writes, "Behind every great cryptographer, it seems, there is a driving pathology", his respect for the mathematicians and programmers who spearheaded public key encryption as the solution to Information Age privacy invasion shines throughout. Even the governmental bad guys are presented more as hapless control fetishists who lack the prescience to see the inevitability of strong encryption as more than a conspiracy of evil.

Each cryptological advance that was made outside the confines of the NSA's Fort Meade complex was met with increasing legislative and judicial resistance. Levy's storytelling acumen tugs the reader along through mathematical and legal hassles that would stop most narratives in their tracks--his words make even the depressingly silly Clipper chip fiasco vibrant. Hardcore privacy nerds will value Crypto as a review of 30 years of wrangling; those readers with less familiarity with the subject will find it a terrific and well-documented launching pad for further research. From notables like Phil Zimmerman to obscure but important figures like James Ellis, Crypto dishes the dirt on folks who know how to keep a secret. --Rob Lightner

Customer Reviews

A very good account
This book covers the emergence and rise of strong cryptography starting at the end of the 60's. Although this might sound like a dry subject, Levy's account is humourous, very readable and an accurate account of how stubborn academics, coders and libertarians wrong-footed our governments and revealed or discovered this important technology for the public.

Forget techno babble - this is a great story, easy to read.
After Hackers, another Levy book in the form of true 'stories' about exceptional individuals in their relative field, this book doesnt disapoint.

Most people will only have a basic understanding of the history of crypto (if any), but after reading the book I cant say that the history of DES,Clipper, PGP, and public key crypto is a worthy read.

Of course, the twist and best is saved for the epilogue. I cant recommend this book more. Another great achievement, with like 8 years of research to ensure the best possible and true story.