Forwarded From: Bruce Schneier <schneier@counterpane.com>
Ever since writing Applied Cryptography, I have been asked to recommend a
book on cryptanalysis. My unfortunate answer is that while there are
several good books on cryptography, there are no books, good or bad, on
cryptanalysis.
The only way to learn cryptanalysis is through practice. A student simply
has to break algorithm after algorithm, inventing new techniques and
modifying existing ones. Reading others' cryptanalysis results helps, but
there is no substitute for experience.
To help in getting this experience, I designed a self-study course in
block-cipher cryptanalysis. With it, a student can follow an ordered path
through the academic literature and emerge out the other side fully
capable of breaking new algorithms and publishing new cryptanalytic
results.
What I have done is to list published algorithms and published
cryptanalyses in a coherent order: by type of cryptanalysis and
difficulty.
A student's task is to read papers describing algorithms, and then
attempt to reproduce published cryptanalytic results. (It is definitely
more difficult to learn cryptanalysis from academic papers than from a
distilled textbook, but the sooner a student gets used to reading academic
papers the better off he will be.) The results, in other published
papers, serve as an "answer key."
The paper is available in both postscript and pdf formats at:
http://www.counterpane.com/self-study.html
Comments are always appreciated.
Bruce
**********************************************************************
Bruce Schneier, President, Counterpane Systems Phone: 612-823-1098
101 E Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55419 Fax: 612-823-1590
Free crypto newsletter. See: http://www.counterpane.com
-o-
Subscribe: mail majordomo@repsec.com with "subscribe isn".
Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
Received on Tue Oct 6 09:10:12 1998