CSC 290: Cryptology -- Links

There are many many exciting crypto links. Every time I go out I find more... when you find some goodies, pass them on.

TEXTBOOK ERRATA!
• Very important link to text Errata! Another Local link to even more text Errata!.
• Randal Nelson's Crypto Page. Full of superb notes, resources, links, more...
• Here's a 2015 reference from Tom Coner's team of library volunteers updating a Web Security libguide [great stuff, libguides -- make sure you know and use the ones in your library!-- CB]. ShortTel Secure Web Communication Page
• A Guide to Computer Crime and Prevention Thanks to Brittany Keller and Mrs. Nancy Crawford.
• , Enigma and Polish Cryptography
• , US Army Field Manual on Cryptanalysis
• Free downloadable chapters from CRC Applied Crypto Handbook
• True Life story of cracking beautiful actress Diana Dors' secret message regarding her will and estate! Cracked by a commercial company using software YOU can download! (It was a Viginere, so you'll be writing your own). As told in IEEE-Spectrum Magazine.
• A Five-Lecture Tutorial from a theoretical point of view. Has Shannon's definition of perfect security.
• July 2001 Issue of Smithsonian has article about the largest collection of espionage equipment in the world: a private collection in Florida, from which the CIA borrowed 500 items for its 50th anniversary. Two enigma machines this guy has along with lots of truly unique stuff. Possible related websites: Cold War Museum , International Spy Museum , National Cryptologic Museum .
• Cryptologia Compendium a quarterly journal form the U.S. Military Academy... lots of fun, accessible, and useful articles. Also Undergraduate Paper competition, Scholarship prizes, etc.
• GCHQ Challenge! The people who REALLY invented public key cryptography bring you amusing crypto challenges featuring useful prizes.
• Pretty Good Privacy International Tutorials, downloadable privacy software, FAQs...
• Elliptic Curve Crypto Link in du Sautoy's biblio. to Elliptic Curve cryptography.... maybe good, maybe not. Every little bit helps?
• The Cypher Project Seems to be an ongoing project to build an interactive tool to help with simple ciphers...
• CPSR Cipher Tools Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility has a bunch of crypto software tools here.
• Counterpane's Courselist .
• Counterpane's Crypto-gram . For some downloaded samples, see below.
• Counterpane's Bibliography .
• Page of various resource links from UMBC.
• A very interesting and complete site, seemingly strong on classical cryptograms, with up to date coverage of the AES candidates and how to attack block ciphers in general. There are complete tutorials and algorithms for things like Hill's Cipher, foreign language cryptography, etc. etc. Also containing information on viruses and computer security. Definitely worth a visit is D.O.E. SysWorks.
• Very nice resource page on Mersenne Primes and related matters.
• Somewhere in UMBC's main cipher course pages...lots of fun, source code, ciphers, lecture notes... UMBC's cipher course .
• In particular, Class Programming Projects and Cipher problems and cipher-breaking tools (some copied over locally... see next link).
• Software Tools from UMBC.
• Automated, integrated aristocrat cryptogram solver. .
• A Dictionary of Common Words. .
• Tutorial on Zero-Knowledge Proofs... .
• Nice, typical Crypto Conference Report , with abstracts. Big range of topics.
• Toby's CryptoPage . Wonderful...Tutorials, examples, history, AND some wonderful exercises (Quiz page, military crypto intercept scenaria, etc...)
• Savard's Crypto Compendium . Incredible. A whole textbook AND a plethora of superb links.
• SANS Institute . Seems to be a security outfit with quite a nice "Reading Room".
• Computer Security 2011 . Definitely the most up-to-date link on the page. Definitions and huge bunch of links to cyber-security information sites. Courtesy of Steven (possibly in Delaware) through Ms. Hughes. Thanks, y'all!

Newsgroups

Books

If you find a book or have a favorite, please pass it along. I'm putting new things here that may not be in other bibliographies yet.

• Here's a Publisher with huge selection of classical and some modern texts and resources.

• Music of the Primes, by Marcs du Sautoy. Terrific new book, like Men of Mathematics crossed with amathematical whodunnit: Gripping, full of personalities and a very successfully UN-mathematical look at history of prime numbers. I couldn't put it down and I learned a lot. Amazon Link I hope.
• You should definitely read everything Barbara Tuchman ever wrote, but in particular there's The Zimmerman Telegram, (NY: Ballentine, 1994), about famous WWI decipherment. Goes well with The Guns of August.

• Crypto , by Steven Levy, who brought you Hackers. Viking press 2001, ISBN 0-670-85950-8.

  Fascinating history of development of modern cryptology from 1969 to the present. Should probably be required for the course...

• Cryptonomicon , by Neal Stephenson. Sprawling novel with everything! Dot-com startup suspense, business intrigue, a cool cipher based on a deck of cards (with Perl script), Nazi gold, a great way to allocate goods to the relatives after a death, and more...
• FOUNDATIONS OF CRYPTOGRAPHY -- BASIC TOOLS by Oded Goldreich, ISBN 0-521-79172-3, Cambridge University Press. Now out! Joel Seiferas has copy.

  Here's a blurb, and here are Title's web-page , and Publisher web-page (accepting orders for this title)

• Body of Secrets, by James Bamford, (Doubleday 721 pages, $29.95). Updated look at NSA (No Such Agency), follow-on to THE PUZZLE PALACE, which was published some 20 years ago. Refutes some myths, brings us up to date generally. Review in Wall St. Journal of 9 May 2001.
• Breaking the Maya Code, by Michael D. Coe (actually!) Fun story of how Mayan was finally understood, and how the effort was held back for years by one established professorial "authority". Exciting and informative.
• Java Cryptography, By Jonathan B. Knudsen 1st Edition May 1998, isbn: 1-56592-402-9, Order Number: 4029 362 pages, $29.95. Here's a link to info, also entire sample Chapter Six on Authentication .
• Java Security By Scott Oaks, 1998, How Java applets preserve security of systems, access control, security policies, plus lots of info redundant with, complementary to, or related to cryptography classes and concepts, as in Knudson's book above.

Newsletters Downloaded

CRYPTO-GRAM is published monthly by Counterpane. You can subscribe, but here are the issues I have. Also if anyone can tell me how to make the multitudinous links work, please tell me. The way things are you are probably better off downloading or reading from your browser. Enjoy!

• 15 Mar O1
• 15 May O1
• 15 June O1
• 19 July O1
• 15 Aug O1