BOOK
The revolution in cryptography, the one that created ecommerce as we know it, was never supposed to happen. The science of encryption had always belonged to the US military - and for the security of the country, it was going to stay that way. Universities were not supposed to teach its principles, professors were not supposed to do research in the field, and US businesses were not supposed to sell cryptographic devices to anyone other than Uncle Sam.
At least, that was the reality in 1970, enforced, in large part, by the National Security Agency. And it's a reality that was shattered by a few university professors, a bunch of computer hackers, and some companies that were trying to make money selling software that the NSA insisted was as dangerous as nuclear bombs.
The story of the discovery and commercialization of public key cryptography is the driving theme of Steven Levy's Crypto, and, not surprisingly, Whitfield Diffie, its inventor, is the star character. Diffie's story has been told many times, but never before in such personal and professional detail. Other characters are Ron Rivest, the entrepreneurial academic who was the primary mover behind RSA the algorithm and RSA the company, as well as David Chaum, the man who invented digital cash and then quite possibly killed it by hoarding his patents. Levy also chronicles the story of the government's response to crypto - the fiasco over the Data Encryption Standard, the mistrusted Clipper Chip, and the battle over the free encryption software Pretty Good Privacy (aka PGP).
Shortly after publishing Insanely Great in 1994, Steven Levy began to write this history of modern cryptography - and to write it with that penetrating style that so distinguishes all his books. Crypto goes into far greater depth than any of Levy's magazine articles on the topic ever could. And thanks to a combination of recently unclassified documents and looser lips, he's able to tell what appears to be the complete story - one that would have evaded him if this book had been published in 1998, as was originally planned. Although it at times succumbs to hero worship, the book is as fine and accurate a portrayal as you will find anywhere. And it's a terrific read. Levy even manages to provide a cursory understanding of encryption itself - without resorting to a single diagram or equation.
Today the crypto wars are largely over: The NSA lost, the hackers won, and unbreakable cryptography is now available worldwide. Whether that does more to increase privacy or jeopardize democracy is anybody's guess.
Crypto: When the Code Rebels Beat the Government - Saving Privacy in the Digital Age by Steven Levy: $25.95. Viking: www.penguinputnam.com.
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