Handbook of Applied Cryptography Alfred J. Menezes, Paul C. van Oorschot, Scott A. Vanstone

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 for theoreticians while containing enough detail to actually allow implementation of the algorithms discussed
Now in its third printing, this is the definitive cryptography reference that the novice as well as experienced developers, designers, researchers, engineers, computer scientists, and mathematicians alike will use.