Cryptography: An Introduction

Geared towards the mathematically minded reader, this textbook explains the basics of cryptography (steering away from "state security aspects" of the science). Chapters cover cryptography and complexity theory, cryptographic protocols, algorithmic problems of number theory, and mathematics of secret sharing. The final chapter contains problems from the (presumably Russian) Cryptography Olympiads and is the only chapter that contains mathematics understandable with only a high school background. Translated from a Russian textbook originally published in 1998. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)