Serious Cryptography, 2nd Edition: A Practical Introduction to Modern Encryption

Crypto can be cryptic. Serious Cryptography, 2nd Edition arms you with the tools you need to pave the way to understanding modern crypto.

This practical guide to modern encryption breaks down the fundamental mathematical concepts at the heart of cryptography without shying away from meaty discussions of how they work. You’ll learn about authenticated encryption, secure randomness, hash functions, block ciphers, and public-key techniques such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography.

You’ll also learn:

• Key concepts in cryptography, such as computational security, attacker models, and forward secrecy
  
• The strengths and limitations of the TLS protocol behind HTTPS secure websites
  
• Quantum computation and post-quantum cryptography
  
• About various vulnerabilities by examining numerous code examples and use cases
  
• How to choose the best algorithm or protocol and ask vendors the right questions
  

Each chapter includes a discussion of common implementation mistakes using real-world examples and details what could go wrong and how to avoid these pitfalls.

This new second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with a new chapter on Cryptocurrency.

Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or a beginner looking to dive into the field, Serious Cryptography will provide a complete survey of modern encryption and its applications.

Jean-Philippe (JP) Aumasson is the Chief Security Officer and cofounder of Taurus SA, a Swiss financial tech company specializing in digital assets infrastructure. Since 2006, he has authored more than 60 research articles in the field of cryptography and designed the widely used hash functions BLAKE2 and SipHash. He speaks regularly at information security conferences and has presented at Black Hat and DEF CON.