Public-Key Cryptography

Cryptography, secret writing, is probably as old as writing in general. Only recently it has become the object of extensive scientific studies. Vast new applications to data security constitute one explanation for this. Perhaps a still more important reason for the huge growth of scientific research on cryptography is the seminal idea of public-key cryptography and the resulting new vistas on the possibilities of communication. This book presents a view on public-key cryptography with classical cryptography as the starting point. An attempt has been made to cover some of the most recent developments and present novel features. The plaintext examples constitute a package of basic sauna knowledge.