Book details of 'Cryptography and E-Commerce: A Wiley Tech Brief'

Title	Cryptography and E-Commerce: A Wiley Tech Brief
Author(s)	Jon C. Graff, Jon C. Graff
ISBN	0471405744
Language	English
Published	December 2000
Publisher	Wiley

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Cryptography and E-Commerce: A Wiley Tech Brief':

Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
The introduction states that the author has set out to write an "accessible, easily understood, and entertaining" guide to modern cryptography. Part one is a presentation of current cryptography. Chapter one opens with symmetric key concepts, but states that DES (Data Encryption Standard) is safe for the present (DES had been broken at least twice by the time the book was written). The basic ideas are presented, but the metaphors and illustrations used may confuse, rather than explain, the issues. The same is true for integrity protection (hashes and digests) in chapter two, and with key management, Kerberos, asymmetric (public key) cryptography, certificates (using only a hierarchical structure), certificate extensions and attributes, and US export restrictions, in the succeeding chapters. The section finishes with a one page "chapter" of concluding remarks. Part two, consisting of chapter ten, is a tutorial on the underlying mathematics of asymmetric cryptography. As with the basics of cryptography presented earlier, using pictures and stories does not seem to help matters, particularly since the math is not correct. (In explaining RSA on page 127, 3 x 11 does *not* equal 44, and a previously undefined function appears partway through the process.) Part three contains case studies of architectures proposed by the author. Chapter eleven utilizes Kerberos, but the most interesting parts involve the use of hardware cards. Chapter twelve is an outline of a fairly generic PKI (Public Key Infrastructure). Overall, the explanations of cryptographic concepts are not bad, but they are not particularly accessible or easily understood, and there are certainly clearer and more complete books that make fewer mistakes, even the simpler ones, such as "Cryptography Decrypted" by H. X. Mel and Doris Baker (see reviews), or "Internet Cryptography" by Richard E. Smith (see reviews). The entertainment value of the pictures and stories is minimal, and, as noted, the graphics and personal names are unlikely to assist the reader in understanding the fundamental theory. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2003
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Book description:

A clear and easy guide on how to use cryptography to secure e-commerce transactions To be on the cutting edge of e-commerce, you need to understand how to best utilize cryptography to offer secure services for your customers over the Internet. But if you reach for most of the available books on the subject, you'll find that they are far too technical for most business needs. If you need a quick and lucid managerial summary to help you develop effective e-commerce strategies, this is the book for you. Geared to nontechnical managers who would like to explore the underlying concepts of modern cryptography, this book features an easily accessible, logical explanation of how cryptography works to solve real-world e-commerce problems, a tutorial on the underlying mathematics, and two case studies of PKI cryptographic architectures, showing how Kerberos and PKC can be wedded to protect a company's intranet and how a full-blown working PKI provides security to a company's Internet communications. Divided into three major parts tailored to readers' needs-Introduction to Modern Cryptography, Tutorial on the Mathematics of Cryptography, and case studies-the book covers: How symmetrical key cryptography ensures confidentiality of messages How cryptography lets you detect whether a message has been modified in transit Why the distribution of cryptographic keys is important and difficult The nuts and bolts of Kerberos-a major component of Microsoft's Windows 2000 security solution How Public Key Cryptography ensures security between people who share no prior secret information Digital signatures on electronic contracts and the concept of non-repudiation How digital certificates ensure positive identification of individuals