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Books: Computers: Cryptography
Holy Blood, Holy Grailby Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln Available from Amazon $7.99 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page Product Review Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh, authors of The Messianic Legacy, spent over 10 years on their own kind of quest for the Holy Grail, into the secretive history of early France. What they found, researched with the tenacity and attention to detail that befits any great quest, is a tangled and intricate story of politics and faith that reads like a mystery novel. It is the story of the Knights Templar, and a behind-the-scenes society called the Prieure de Sion, and its involvement in reinstating descendants of the Merovingian bloodline into political power. Why? The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail assert that their explorations into early history ultimately reveal that Jesus may not have died on the cross, but lived to marry and father children whose bloodline continues today. The authors' point here is not to compromise or to demean Jesus, but to offer another, more complete perspective of Jesus as God's incarnation in man. The power of this secret, which has been carefully guarded for hundreds of years, has sparked much controversy. For all the sensationalism and hoopla surrounding Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the alternate history that it outlines, the authors are careful to keep their perspective and sense of skepticism alive in its pages, explaining carefully and clearly how they came to draw such combustible conclusions. --Jodie Buller Book Description Is the traditional, accepted view of the life of Christ in some way incomplete? • Is it possible Christ did not die on the cross? • Is it possible Jesus was married, a father, and that his bloodline still exists? • Is it possible that parchments found in the South of France a century ago reveal one of the best-kept secrets of Christendom? • Is it possible that these parchments contain the very heart of the mystery of the Holy Grail? According to the authors of this extraordinarily provocative, meticulously researched book, not only are these things possible — they are probably true! so revolutionary, so original, so convincing, that the most faithful Christians will be moved; here is the book that has sparked worldwide controversey. "Enough to seriously challenge many traditional Christian beliefs, if not alter them." — Los Angeles Times Book Review "Like Chariots of the Gods?the plot has all the elements of an international thriller." — Newsweek |
Digital Fortress: A Thrillerby Dan Brown Available from Amazon $7.99 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page Product Review In most thrillers, "hardware" consists of big guns, airplanes, military vehicles, and weapons that make things explode. Dan Brown has written a thriller for those of us who like our hardware with disc drives and who rate our heroes by big brainpower rather than big firepower. It's an Internet user's spy novel where the good guys and bad guys struggle over secrets somewhat more intellectual than just where the secret formula is hidden--they have to gain understanding of what the secret formula actually is. In this case, the secret formula is a new means of encryption, capable of changing the balance of international power. Part of the fun is that the book takes the reader along into an understanding of encryption technologies. You'll find yourself better understanding the political battles over such real-life technologies as the Clipper Chip and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software even though the book looks at the issues through the eyes of fiction. Although there's enough globehopping in this book for James Bond, the real battleground is cyberspace, because that's where the "bomb" (or rather, the new encryption algorithm) will explode. Yes, there are a few flaws in the plot if you look too closely, but the cleverness and the sheer fun of it all more than make up for them. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and a lot of high, gee-whiz-level information about encryption, code breaking, and the role they play in international politics. Set aside the whole afternoon and evening for it and have finger food on hand for supper--you may want to read this one straight through.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation (Pro-Developer (Hardcover))by Tony Northrup, Shawn Wildermuth, and Bill Ryan List Price: $69.99 Available from Amazon $44.09 On 7-22-2006
See Item's Page Book Description Announcing an all-new MCTS Training Kit designed to help maximize your performance on Exam 70-536, a core exam for the new microsoft Technology Specialist and Professional Developer certifications. This kit packs the tools and features that exam candidates want most—including in-depth, self-paced training based on final exam content; rigorous, objective-by-objective Review; exam tips from expert, exam-certified authors; and a robust testing suite. It also provides real-world scenarios, case study examples, and troubleshooting labs for skills and expertise that you can apply to the job. Focusing on the .NET Framework version 2.0, this official study guide covers topics such as .NET Framework fundamentals, I/O, graphics, collections, serialization, application domains and services, application and user security, threading, instrumentation, reflection, and installing and configuring applications. Ace your exam preparation and ramp up quickly on the .NET Framework by working at your own pace through the lessons, hands-on exercises, and practice tests. The flexible, best-of-class test engine on CD features 300 practice questions and pre-assessment and post-assessment capabilities. Choose timed or untimed testing mode, generate random tests, or focus on discrete objectives or chapters, and get detailed explanations for right and wrong answers—including pointers back to the book for further study. You also get a 90-day evaluation version of microsoft Visual Studio® 2005 and a 15 percent exam discount voucher—making this kit an exceptional value and a great career investment.
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The Saboteurs (Men at War (Hardcover))by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV List Price: $25.95 Available from Amazon $16.35 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Griffin and his son, Butterworth, resuscitate Griffin's Men at War series, first published in paperback during the 1980s under the pseudonym Alex Baldwin and featuring the Office of Strategic Services; its fabled chief, Col. William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan; and OSS agent Maj. Richard M. Canidy. Two primary plot lines drive this new adventure: the U.S. preparation for the invasion of Sicily and mainland Italy in 1943, and the tale of four German saboteurs who have landed in America. The authors are heavily invested in their research, meticulously describing almost every element of life in the 1940s, to the detriment of the action. The German saboteurs are eventually dealt with, but the behind-the-lines Sicilian operation led by Canidy is only hastily outlined after a long buildup. One supposes that the Sicilian story that's promised but never delivered will appear in future installments. This is pretty much all show and no go, but readers who have a strong interest in WWII home-front history should be satisfied. Copyright © Reed business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Griffin's fans will welcome his thirty-seventh novel, this one the fifth in the Men at War series, which is about the OSS during World War II. (His coauthor here is his son.) The rich plot deals with the Battle of the Atlantic, during which German U-Boats were sinking American supply ships. In this fictionalized account, ships are set on fire in American ports and explosions have sabotaged trains and train stations across the country. As Allied forces prepare to invade Sicily and Italy, enter "Wild Bill" Donovan and three of his agents, assigned to stop the mayhem and help win the war. As always, the locales range worldwide, including Florida, London, Sicily, New York City, Newark, Algiers, and Washington, D.C. Some characters drink a lot, some purportedly "for medicinal purposes." Indelicate language peppers the dialogue, and many close calls threaten lives. From the beginning, readers will surmise that the good guys win, but they will want to read all the way through--just to make sure. George Cohen Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved |
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptographyby Simon Singh List Price: $15.00 Available from Amazon $9.75 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page Product Review People love secrets. Ever since the first word was written, humans have sent coded messages to each other. In The Code Book, Simon Singh, author of the bestselling Fermat's Enigma, offers a peek into the world of cryptography and codes, from ancient texts through computer encryption. Singh's compelling history is woven through with stories of how codes and ciphers have played a vital role in warfare, politics, and royal intrigue. The major theme of The Code Book is what Singh calls "the ongoing evolutionary battle between codemakers and codebreakers," never more clear than in the chapters devoted to World War II. Cryptography came of age during that conflict, as secret communications became critical to both sides' success.
Confronted with the prospect of defeat, the Allied cryptanalysts had worked night and day to penetrate German ciphers. It would appear that fear was the main driving force, and that adversity is one of the foundations of successful codebreaking. In the information age, the fear that drives cryptographic improvements is both capitalistic and libertarian--corporations need encryption to ensure that their secrets don't fall into the hands of competitors and regulators, and ordinary people need encryption to keep their everyday communications private in a free society. Similarly, the battles for greater decryption power come from said competitors and governments wary of insurrection. The Code Book is an excellent primer for those wishing to understand how the human need for privacy has manifested itself through cryptography. Singh's accessible style and clear explanations of complex algorithms cut through the arcane mathematical details without oversimplifying. --Therese Littleton
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Beginning Cryptography with Javaby David Hook List Price: $39.99 Available from Amazon $25.19 On 7-22-2006 
See Item's Page Book Description Beginning Cryptography with Java While cryptography can still be a controversial topic in the programming community, Java has weathered that storm and provides a rich set of APIs that allow you, the developer, to effectively include cryptography in applications-if you know how. This book teaches you how. Chapters one through five cover the architecture of the JCE and JCA, symmetric and asymmetric key encryption in Java, message authentication codes, and how to create Java implementations with the API provided by the Bouncy Castle ASN.1 packages, all with plenty of examples. Building on that foundation, the second half of the book takes you into higher-level topics, enabling you to create and implement secure Java applications and make use of standard protocols such as CMS, SSL, and S/MIME. What you will learn from this book * How to understand and use JCE, JCA, and the JSSE for encryption and authentication * The ways in which padding mechanisms work in ciphers and how to spot and fix typical errors * An understanding of how authentication mechanisms are implemented in Java and why they are used * Methods for describing cryptographic objects with ASN.1 * How to create certificate revocation lists and use the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) * Real-world Web solutions using Bouncy Castle APIs Who this book is for This book is for Java developers who want to use cryptography in their applications or to understand how cryptography is being used in Java applications. Knowledge of the Java language is necessary, but you need not be familiar with any of the APIs discussed. Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved. Back Cover Copy Beginning Cryptography with Java While cryptography can still be a controversial topic in the programming community, Java has weathered that storm and provides a rich set of APIs that allow you, the developer, to effectively include cryptography in applications—if you know how. This book teaches you how. Chapters one through five cover the architecture of the JCE and JCA, symmetric and asymmetric key encryption in Java, message authentication codes, and how to create Java implementations with the API provided by the Bouncy Castle ASN.1 packages, all with plenty of examples. Building on that foundation, the second half of the book takes you into higher-level topics, enabling you to create and implement secure Java applications and make use of standard protocols such as CMS, SSL, and S/MIME. What you will learn from this book
Who this book is for This book is for Java developers who want to use cryptography in their applications or to understand how cryptography is being used in Java applications. Knowledge of the Java language is necessary, but you need not be familiar with any of the APIs discussed. Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.
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Cryptography and Network Security (4th Edition)by William Stallings Available from Amazon $84.00 On 7-22-2006
See Item's Page Book Description In this age of viruses and hackers, of electronic eavesdropping and electronic fraud, security is paramount. This solid, up-to-date tutorial is a comprehensive treatment of cryptography and network security is ideal for self-study. Explores the basic issues to be addressed by a network security capability through a tutorial and survey of cryptography and network security technology. Examines the practice of network security via practical applications that have been implemented and are in use today. Provides a simplified AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) that enables readers to grasp the essentials of AES more easily. Features block cipher modes of operation, including the CMAC mode for authentication and the CCM mode for authenticated encryption. Includes an expanded, updated treatment of intruders and malicious software. A useful reference for system engineers, programmers, system managers, network managers, product marketing personnel, and system support specialists. |
Modern Cryptography: Theory and Practiceby Wenbo Mao List Price: $59.99 Available from Amazon $37.79 On 7-22-2006
See Item's Page Book Description Preface Our society has entered an era where commerce activities, business transactionsand government services have been, and more and more of them will be, conductedand offered over open computer and communications networks such as the Internet,in particular, via WorldWideWeb-based tools. Doing things online has a greatadvantage of an always-on availability to people in any corner of the world. Hereare a few examples of things that have been, can or will be done online: Banking, bill payment, home shopping, stock trading, auctions, taxation,gambling, micro-payment (e.g., pay-per-downloading), electronicidentity, online access to medical records, virtual private networking, securedata archival and retrieval, certified delivery of documents, fair exchangeof sensitive documents, fair signing of contracts, time-stamping,notarization, voting, advertising, licensing, ticket booking, interactivegames, digital libraries, digital rights management, pirate tracing, . . . And more can be imagined. Fascinating commerce activities, transactions and services like these are onlypossible if communications over open networks can be conducted in a secure manner.An effective solution to securing communications over open networks is to applycryptography. Encryption, digital signatures, password-based user authentication,are some of the most basic cryptographic techniques for securing communications.However, as we shall witness many times in this book, there are surprising subtletiesand serious security consequences in the applications of even the most basiccryptographic techniques. Moreover, for many "fancier" applications, such as manylisted in the preceding paragraph, the basic cryptographic techniques are no longeradequate. With an increasingly large demand for safeguarding communications over opennetworks for more and more sophisticated forms of electronic commerce, businessand servicesa, an increasingly large number of information security professionalsaGartner Group forecasts that total electronic business revenues for business to business (B2B)and business to consumer (B2C) in the European Union will reach a projected US $2.6trillion inwill be needed for designing, developing, analyzing and maintaining informationsecurity systems and cryptographic protocols. These professionals may range fromIT systems administrators, information security engineers and software/hardwaresystems developers whose products have security requirements, to cryptographers. In the past few years, the author, a technical consultant on information securityand cryptographic systems at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Bristol, haswitnessed the phenomenon of a progressively increased demand for information securityprofessionals unmatched by an evident shortage of them. As a result, manyengineers, who are oriented to application problems and may have little propertraining in cryptography and information security have become "roll-up-sleeves"designers and developers for information security systems or cryptographic protocols.This is in spite of the fact that designing cryptographic systems and protocolsis a diffcult job even for an expert cryptographer. The author's job has granted him privileged opportunities to Review many informationsecurity systems and cryptographic protocols, some of them proposedand designed by "roll-up-sleeves" engineers and are for uses in serious applications.In several occasions, the author observed so-called "textbook crypto" features insuch systems, which are the result of applications of cryptographic algorithms andschemes in ways they are usually introduced in many cryptographic textbooks. Directencryption of a password (a secret number of a small magnitude) under abasic public-key encryption algorithm (e.g., "RSA") is a typical example of textbookcrypto. The appearances of textbook crypto in serious applications with a"non-negligible probability" have caused a concern for the author to realize thatthe general danger of textbook crypto is not widely known to many people whodesign and develop information security systems for serious real-world applications. Motivated by an increasing demand for information security professionals anda belief that their knowledge in cryptography should not be limited to textbookcrypto, the author has written this book as a textbook on non-textbook cryptography.This book endeavors to: Introduce a wide range of cryptographic algorithms, schemes and protocols with a particular emphasis on their non-textbook versions. Reveal general insecurity of textbook crypto by demonstrating a large number of attacks on and summarizing typical attacking techniques for such systems. Provide principles and guidelines for the design, analysis and implementation of cryptographic systems and protocols with a focus on standards. Study formalism techniques and methodologies for a rigorous establishment of strong and fit-for-application security notions for cryptographic systems and protocols. Include self-contained and elaborated material as theoretical foundations of modern cryptography for readers who desire a systematic understanding of the subject. Scope Modern cryptography is a vast area of study as a result of fast advances made in thepast thirty years. This book focuses on one aspect:in troducing fit-for-applicationcryptographic schemes and protocols with their strong security properties evidentlyestablished. The book is organized into the following six parts: Part I This part contains two chapters (1--2) and serves an elementary-level introductionfor the book and the areas of cryptography and information security.Chapter 1 begins with a demonstration on the effectiveness of cryptographyin solving a subtle communication problem. A simple cryptographic protocol(first protocol of the book) for achieving "fair coin tossing over telephone"will be presented and discussed. This chapter then carries on to conduct acultural and "trade" introduction to the areas of study. Chapter 2 uses aseries of simple authentication protocols to manifest an unfortunate fact inthe areas:pitfalls are everywhere.As an elementary-level introduction, this part is intended for newcomers tothe areas. Part II This part contains four chapters (3--6) as a set of mathematical backgroundknowledge, facts and basis to serve as a self-contained mathematicalreference guide for the book. Readers who only intend to "knowhow," i.e.,know how to use the fit-for-application crypto schemes and protocols, mayskip this part yet still be able to follow most contents of the rest of the book.Readers who also want to "know-why," i.e., know why these schemes andprotocols have strong security properties, may find that this self-containedmathematical part is a suffcient reference material. When we present workingprinciples of cryptographic schemes and protocols, reveal insecurity forsome of them and reason about security for the rest, it will always be possiblefor us to refer to a precise point in this part of the book for supportingmathematical foundations.This part can also be used to conduct a systematic background study of thetheoretical foundations for modern cryptography. Part III This part contains four chapters (7--10) introducing the most basic cryptographicalgorithms and techniques for providing privacy and data integrity protections. Chapter 7 is for symmetric encryption schemes, Chapter 8, asymmetrictechniques. Chapter 9 considers an important security quality possessedby the basic and popular asymmetric cryptographic functions whenthey are used in an ideal world in which data are random. Finally, Chapter10 covers data integrity techniques.Since the schemes and techniques introduced here are the most basic ones,many of them are in fact in the textbook crypto category and are consequentlyinsecure. While the schemes are introduced, abundant attacks onmany schemes will be demonstrated with warning remarks explicitly stated.For practitioners who do not plan to proceed with an in-depth study of fitfor-application crypto and their strong security notions, this textbook cryptopart will still provide these readers with explicit early warning signals on thegeneral insecurity of textbook crypto. Part IV This part contains three chapters (11--13) introducing an important notionin applied cryptography and information security:authen tication. Thesechapters provide a wide coverage of the topic. Chapter 11 includes technicalbackground, principles, a series of basic protocols and standards, common attackingtricks and prevention measures. Chapter 12 is a case study for fourwell-known authentication protocol systems for real world applications. Chapter13 introduces techniques which are particularly suitable for open systemswhich cover up-to-date and novel techniques.Practitioners, such as information security systems administration staff in anenterprise and software/hardware developers whose products have securityconsequences may find this part helpful. Part V This part contains four chapters (14--17) which provide formalism andrigorous treatments for strong (i.e., fit-for-application) security notions forpublic-key cryptographic techniques (encryption, signature and signcryption)and formal methodologies for the analysis of authentication protocols. Chapter14 introduces formal definitions of strong security notions. The next twochapters are fit-for-application counterparts to textbook crypto schemes introducedin Part III, with strong security properties formally established (i.e.,evidently reasoned). Finally, Chapter 17 introduces formal analysis methodologiesand techniques for the analysis of authentication protocols, which wehave not been able to deal with in Part IV. Part VI This is the final part of the book. It contains two technical chapters (18--19) and a short final remark (Chapter 20). The main technical content of thispart, Chapter 18, introduces a class of cryptographic protocols called zeroknowledgeprotocols. These protocols provide an important security service claimant. Zero-knowledge protocols to be introduced in this part exemplifythe diversity of special security Back Cover Copy "This book would be a good addition to any cryptographer's bookshelf. The book is self-contained; it presents all the background material to understand an algorithm and all the development to prove its security. I'm not aware of another book that's as complete as this one." --Christian Paquin, Cryptographic/Security Developer, Silanis Technology Inc. "The book is both complete, and extraordinarily technically accurate. It would certainly be a useful addition to any cryptographer's or crypto-engineer's library." --Marcus Leech, Advisor, Security Architecture and Planning, Nortel Networks Build more secure crypto systems--and prove their trustworthiness Modern Cryptography is the indispensable resource for every technical professional who needs to implement strong security in real-world applications. Leading HP security expert Wenbo Mao explains why "textbook" crypto schemes, protocols, and systems are profoundly vulnerable by revealing real-world-scenario attacks. Next, he shows how to realize cryptographic systems and protocols that are truly "fit for application"--and formally demonstrates their fitness. Mao presents practical examples throughout and provides all the mathematical background you'll need. Coverage includes:
Mao introduces formal and reductionist methodologies to prove the "fit-for-application" security of practical encryption, signature, signcryption, and authentication schemes. He gives detailed explanations for zero-knowledge protocols: definition, zero-knowledge properties, equatability vs. simulatability, argument vs. proof, round-efficiency, and non-interactive versions. |
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