Cryptography: The Key to Digital Security, How It Works, and Why It Matters

A “must-read” (Vincent Rijmen) nuts-and-bolts explanation of cryptography from a leading expert in information security. Despite its reputation as a language only of spies and hackers, cryptography plays a critical role in our everyday lives. Though often invisible, it underpins the security of our mobile phone calls, credit card payments, web searches, internet messaging, and cryptocurrencies—in short, everything we do online. Increasingly, it also runs in the background of our smart refrigerat