Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot and Scott A. Vanstone

CRC Press
ISBN: 0-8493-8523-7
October 1996, 816 pages

Fourth Printing (July 1999)

The Handbook was reprinted (4th printing) in July 1999. The publisher did not make the corrections and various minor changes and updates we submitted for the 4th printing, as a result of which the 4th printing is identical to the 3rd printing. You can identify the 3rd and 4th printings of the book by looking for either "3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0" or "4 5 6 7 8 9 0" at the bottom of the page that includes the ISBN number.

You can order the handbook today from any one of these online bookstores:

• Amazon Books (amazon.com) (Price as of February 21, 2001: US $84.95).
• Chapters.ca (for Canadian orders) (Price as of February 21, 2001: Cdn$111.15).
• Barnes and Noble (Price as of February 21, 2001: US $94.95).

Sample Chapters

CRC Press has generously given us permission to make all chapters available for free download.
Please read this copyright notice before downloading any of the chapters.

• Chapter 1 - Overview of Cryptography (48 pages)
  Postscript file, 554k; Pdf file, 343k.
• Chapter 2 - Mathematics Background (38 pages)
  Postscript file, 472k; Pdf file, 301k.
• Chapter 3 - Number-Theoretic Reference Problems (46 pages)
  Postscript file, 543k; Pdf file, 397k.
• Chapter 4 - Public-Key Parameters (36 pages)
  Postscript file, 497k; Pdf file, 331k.
• Chapter 5 - Pseudorandom Bits and Sequences (22 pages)
  Postscript file, 330k; Pdf file, 206k.
• Chapter 6 - Stream Ciphers (32 pages)
  Postscript file, 484k; Pdf file, 274k.
• Chapter 7 - Block Ciphers (60 pages)
  Postscript file, 783k; Pdf file, 491k.
• Chapter 8 - Public-Key Encryption (36 pages)
  Postscript file, 434k; Pdf file, 303k.
• Chapter 9 - Hash Functions and Data Integrity (61 pages)
  Postscript file, 690k; Pdf file, 482k.
• Chapter 10 - Identification and Entity Authentication (40 pages)
  Postscript file, 444k; Pdf file, 316k.
• Chapter 11 - Digital Signatures (64 pages)
  Postscript file, 748k; Pdf file, 526k.
• Chapter 12 - Key Establishment Protocols (53 pages)
  Postscript file, 532k; Pdf file, 400k.
• Chapter 13 - Key Management Techniques (48 pages)
  Postscript file, 536k; Pdf file, 340k.
• Chapter 14 - Efficient Implementation (44 pages)
  Postscript file, 547k; Pdf file, 371k.
• Chapter 15 - Patents and Standards (27 pages)
  Postscript file, 296k; Pdf file, 212k.
• Appendix - Bibliography of Papers from Selected Cryptographic Forums (40 pages)
  Postscript file, 363k; Pdf file, 331k.
• References (52 pages)
  Postscript file, 521k; Pdf file, 459k.
• Index (26 pages)
  Postscript file, 236k; Pdf file, 160k.

If you do not have a PostScript previewer, you can download one from here.

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Pate Williams has generously made available his C implementations of most of the algorithms in the handbook.

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About the book

• Book cover (gif file)
• Brief table of contents
• Table of contents
• Foreword, by Ron Rivest
• Preface
• Reviews
• How to order your own copy

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Words from the authors

Cryptography, in particular public-key cryptography, has emerged in the last 20 years as an important discipline that is not only the subject of an enormous amount of research, but provides the foundation for information security in many applications. Standards are emerging to meet the demands for cryptographic protection in most areas of data communications. Public-key cryptographic techniques are now in widespread use, especially in the financial services industry, in the public sector, and by individuals for their personal privacy, such as in electronic mail. This Handbook will serve as a valuable reference for the novice as well as for the expert who needs a wider scope of coverage within the area of cryptography. It is a necessary and timely guide for professionals who practice the art of cryptography.

The Handbook of Applied Cryptography provides a treatment that is multifunctional:

• It serves as an introduction to the more practical aspects of both conventional and public-key cryptography
• It is a valuable source of the latest techniques and algorithms for the serious practitioner
• It provides an integrated treatment of the field, while still presenting each major topic as a self-contained unit
• It provides a mathematical treatment to accompany practical discussions
• It contains enough abstraction to be a valuable reference to theoreticians while containing enough detail to actually allow implementation of the algorithms discussed

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Features

• Excellent organization of material and numbering of items provides easy and rapid access of information, and includes:
  • More than 200 algorithms and protocols
  • More than 200 tables and figures
  • More than 1,000 numbered definitions, facts, examples, notes, and remarks
  • Extensive cross referencing between chapters
  • Extensive 26-page index
• Over 1,250 significant references, including brief comments on each paper
• Over 90 experts in cryptography reviewed chapters in their specialty
• Extensive notes at the end of each chapter survey the relevant literature
• Listing of all papers published in Aisacrypt/Auscrypt, Crypto, Eurocrypt, Fast Software Encryption Conferences, and in the Journal of Cryptology

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Errata (last updated January 13, 2001)

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Useful Links

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Handbook of Applied Cryptography / ajmeneze@uwaterloo.ca / last updated February 21 2001