Can anyone recommend any good content to learn cryptography? Like, even if I read the algorithm for AES I have zero understanding about why it works this way

I've finished the Cryptography I on Coursera already. Can't recommend it enough

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coldstartops 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I've been through Introduction to Modern Cryptography by Katz and Lindell. Can recommend, as it starts with Caesars cipher, one time pads, and builds towards modern cryptography.

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pet_the_bird 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"Cryptography Made Simple" By Nigel Smart and "A Graduate Course in Applied Cryptography" by Dan Boneh and Victor Shoup are excellent resources for people that have affinity with Math and CS. The second resource can be a tough read, and I would strongly recommend not skipping the first few chapters.

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yason 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Back in the day, I read Applied Cryptography (by Schneier) and clarity rained upon many things.

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tptacek 4 hours ago | parent [-]

More damage has been done by that book than by any Herbert Schildt C language book.

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LPisGood 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Can you elaborate?

	▲	tptacek 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		It's a book that is much more interested in presenting an almanac-esque survey of everything that was happening in cryptography at the time it was written (also unhelpful: it was written at a particularly un-rigorous point in the evolution of cryptography) than it is in teaching readers how to accomplish anything safely.

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esafak 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

This is news to me. Is it him in general or just that book?

	▲	tptacek 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Just that book. The followup (Practical Cryptography, now called Cryptography Engineering, though it's the same book) is much, much better --- though it's also totally out of date at this point, and would also get you in trouble.

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zOneLetter 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I looked at the recommendations under your comment, but I don't think I'm capable of these either lol

Any recommendations for a technically competent person, but for someone with math knowledge trailing off at Calc 2?

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krupan 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The math isn't that difficult once you grok mod math. It's like time, like doing addition and subtraction on a clock. What's 10 + 4 on a clock? 4 hours past 10 is 2.

	▲	tptacek 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The math stays difficult after basic discrete concepts and gets more difficult as you go. :) It's straightforward to get yourself to a place where you can do cryptographic things and feel somewhat comfortable with what's happening. Truly understanding it to the point where you can reason safely about it is deceptively harder.

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pet_the_bird 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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PaulStatezny 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I would highly recommend the free book Crypto 101.

https://www.crypto101.io

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rramadass 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

1) Understanding Cryptography by Christof Paar et al. I learnt cryptography from the 1st edition. Its very practical and highly recommended - https://www.cryptography-textbook.com/

2) Cryptography: Theory and Practice by Douglas Stinson et al. This is a more mathematical treatment and hence a nice complement to the Paar book above - https://www.routledge.com/Cryptography-Theory-and-Practice/S...

3) For understanding how cryptography is used in Networks see the classic Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World by Radia Perlman et al. The 2nd edition is where i started my journey into network security/cryptography needed for my then job. Highly recommended - https://www.amazon.com/Network-Security-Charlie-Kaufman/dp/0...

The first two books give you the "mechanisms" (and theory) of cryptography i.e. the building blocks. The last book puts everything together to implement "policies" via practical applications (eg. IPSec/SSL etc.) for the real world. They are complementary and hence should be studied together to get the full picture.

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cumshitpiss 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

https://cs.ru.nl/~joan/papers/JDA_VRI_Rijndael_2002.pdf

A large part of this book is aimed at the readers who want to know why we designed Rijndael in the way we did. For them, we explain the ideas and principles underlying the design of Rijndael, culminating in our wide trail design strategy.

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soupspaces 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

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