Internet Security: Cryptographic Principles, Algorithms and Protocols

Rating:
Summary: Could be a Classic
Review: Taking a longer view that some other cryptography books, this book still covers all the main issues in current cryptography. But what the author is trying to do is give a broader overview, that is not tied to specific cryptosystems that are currently deployed.

All the good stuff is here - elliptic methods, el Gamal, hashing/hash digests, Public Key Infrastructure etc.

Perhaps this book can be compared to Bruce Schneier's groundbreaking "Applied Cryptography" of over ten years ago. Both books deliberately refrained from tying their textual descriptions too closely to contemporary implementations.

The mathematical treatment in this book is perhaps a little deeper than Schneier's book, but still far easier for most users than a fully fledged math treatise.

The most interesting parts may be Rhee's speculations on the future directions of cryptography. Potentially, if you are a researcher, this may be the most useful to you, with potential indicators of where to go.