Crypto (book)
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2024) |
.jpg) First US edition | |
| Author | Steven Levy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Factual |
| Publisher | Viking Press (US) Allen Lane (UK) |
Publication date | 2001 |
| ISBN | 0-14-024432-8 |
| OCLC | 48846639 |
Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age is a book about cryptography written by Steven Levy, published in 2001. Levy details the emergence of public key cryptography, digital signatures and the struggle between the National Security Agency and the "cypherpunks". The book details the creation of Data Encryption Standard (DES), RSA and the Clipper chip.[1]
Cover Text
[edit]If you've ever made a secure purchase with your credit card over the Internet, then you have seen cryptography, or "crypto", in action. From Stephen Levy-'the author who made "hackers" a household word-'comes this account of a revolution that is already affecting every citizen in the twenty-first century. Crypto tells the inside story of how a group of "crypto rebels"—nerds and visionaries turned freedom fighters—teamed up with corporate interests to beat Big Brother and ensure our privacy on the Internet. Levy's history of one of the most controversial and important topics of the digital age reads like the best futuristic fiction.
Summary
[edit]The essayist and philosopher George Santayana is often attributed with the quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Unfortunately, this is exactly what the United States is doing right now with regard to the ongoing debate between national security (surveillance) and data privacy – a political hot potato exemplified by the recent, highly visible confrontation between Apple and the Department of Justice.
As Santayana would easily understand, this debate is nothing new. In the 1990s, a sundry group of visionaries, idealists and technologists took these issues head-on by tapping into esoteric mathematical formulas and developing new cryptographic methods for protecting the confidentiality and integrity of digital identities and data. These innovations led to commercial and grass-roots constituencies dedicated to spreading cryptographic technology to the masses as well as a disparate group (led by the U.S. government) focused on containing and controlling cryptography.
Steven Levy's wonderful book Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government – Saving Privacy in the Digital Age chronicles these opposing forces during the 1990s, an era of rapid growth in personal computing and network connectivity. Crypto's strength comes from its comprehensiveness. It covers a number of seminal data privacy events including the development and commercialization of PKI, early progress with digital currency, and even the now infamous U.S. government's Clipper Chip, an effort to establish monopolistic control of international cryptography. Beyond innovations and events alone, however, Levy also provides rich, detailed stories of an assortment of idiosyncratic characters like Jim Bidzos, Whitfield Diffie, and Phil Zimmermann who drove the development, commercialization and proliferation of cryptography to the mass market.
In retrospect, the 1990s seem like a prehistoric information technology era, but Levy's thoughtful description of the issues, innovations and deliberations around data privacy make Crypto a timeless and worthwhile read for cybersecurity professionals circa 2016. Besides, Crypto personifies data privacy by following the trials and tribulations of assorted individuals who gave us the technologies and policies (for better and worse) that we live with today. This elevates Crypto from a historical review to an entertaining read. Based upon these qualities, Crypto deserves a permanent home in the Cybersecurity Canon.[2]
About the Author
[edit]Steven Levy is the author of Hackers, which has been in print for more than fifteen years, as well as Insanely Great: The Life & Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything. He is also Newsweek's chief technology writer and has been a contributing writer to Wired since its inception. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ John Naughton (February 3, 2001). "Steven Levy gives a fascinating account of the birth of public key cryptography in Crypto". The Guardian.
- Scott McLemee (January 14, 2001). "Decoder Ring — How a ragged band broke the government's hold on cryptography". The New York Times. - ^ Oltsik, Jon (14 July 2016). "The Cybersecurity Canon: Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government – Saving Privacy in the Digital Age".
External links
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