Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government--Saving Privacy in the Digital Age

If you've ever made a secure purchase with your credit card over the Internet, then you have seen cryptography, or "crypto", in action. From Stephen Levy-the author who made "hackers" a household word-comes this account of a revolution that is already affecting every citizen in the twenty-first century. Crypto tells the inside story of how a group of "crypto rebels"-nerds and visionaries turned freedom fighters-teamed up with corporate interests to beat Big Brother and ensure our privacy on the Internet. Levy's history of one of the most controversial and important topics of the digital age sounds like the best futuristic fiction.

User reviews

LibraryThing member calvin_xa

I wish i'd read this book when i was in high school. Why? because it shows that math can be interesting, fun, and even revolutionary.
This book is a brilliant insight into the mathematics, personalities and politics in the debate over a citizen's right to privacy in the digital age.

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LibraryThing member jaygheiser

Levy is one of my favorite essayists. He finds a compelling story, researches it exhaustively, and then shares his excitement. The history of Internet cryptography is a perfect subject for Levy, who delights in recounting stories about technoradicals w

LibraryThing member kevinashley

A an easy and illuminating read about the modern history of cryptography, or more specifically the tale of public key systems. The style is as one might expect of a journalist (highly readable but with a tendency to want to create drama where it isn't entirely necessary) but the material is

well-referenced and there's a good index and bibliography. It was a revelation to me that Martin Gardner's SA column, which I vividly remember reading, played such a crucial role in the whole business, and came so early in the process.

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LibraryThing member cargocontainer

I read this book several years back, and found it a fascinating history of cryptography, particularly in the modern age. I read it shortly after reading Cryptonomicon for the first time. If you find the subject interesting, you will probably enjoy it. If you don't, you will probably find it dry and

dull.

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LibraryThing member typo180

Excellent! This is a really interesting history of the development of public crypto and the interaction with NSA and FBI over it. This is a battle we were just fighting in the 90s and are already fighting again. You'll be surprised at how many parallels there are. The same players, the same

arguments. This is a definite must-read if you want context for the current crypto debates going on, including #AppleVsFBI.

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LibraryThing member DoesNotCompute

The story of Whit Diffie and Martin Hellman who solved the problem of key exchange and Phil Zimmerman who gave it to the world. Great story writen in Steven Levy's easy reading style.

LibraryThing member jzacsh

It just happens that soon after reading this book, I took a proper cryptology class as part of my computer science undergrad. This book was both: a) an awesome lesson in history, and b) an awesome 101-primer for anyone (let alone a student about to dive into the nittier/grittier details of

math/etc.).

Absolutely loved this book.

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