A well thought out introduction to cryptanalysis

books:

	• Elementary Cryptanalysis: A Mathematical Approach (Mathematical Association of America Textbooks) Abraham Sinkov The Mathematical Association of America, 1998 - 232 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A classic in basic cryptanalysis

This book is truly a classic in basic cryptanalysis, still one of the best introductions to cryptography available forty years after it was first published. I am currently teaching a course in encryption and data compression and read it
to see if I could find any new ideas. In preparation for the course, I had looked over several potential textbooks for the encryption section, so thought I had all of the basics down. Therefore, I really didn't expect to find anything new in this book.
That expectation was incorrect, I found three additional ideas that I will incorporate into my course. The ideas are easy to understand, yet effective in complicating the writing of computer programs to decrypt messages. Since a great deal of the activities in the class is writing programs, this will increase the amount of fun I will have in challenging the thought processes and coding skills of the students.
If you are interested in learning the basics of encryption and decryption, this book is one of the very best places to start.

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Great Cryptanalysis Teaching Book

This book may have first been published back in 1966 (a fact apparent to many of today's younger readers who are completely baffled as to why such a text doesn't have an accompanying CD), yet it stands out as a classic in the field. I actually use selections from this book with middle school mathematics students in my extracurricular Cryptanalysis Club... and yes, they MUST learn the skill of breaking Viegenere Ciphers by brute force before they may use any of the free online algorithms they always seem to "accidentally" discover using intentionally specific keywords in search engines ("...but, Sir, it's not 1966 anymore...")

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No one does it better!

Dr. Sinkov has been-there, done-that. He was in the first group of three mathematicians hired by William Friedman of the Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) back in 1930. After two name changes, the agency became the NSA, and Sinkov became the Chief of Communications Security, and later, Deputy Director for Production.

Using only high school math, the good doctor takes us on a tour of cryptanalysis that is remarkable for it's clarity and completeness. If you don't start with Sinkov's book, you're doing it the hard way.

good

Interesting read, the book having being written before the computer revolution is very apparent to this younger reader. But it still seems very relevant. Was good back ground for getting into the field.

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A well thought out introduction to cryptanalysis

Sinkov's book was originally targetted at well prepared high school students. It covers the basic theory of substitution and transposition ciphers, and the tools of cryptographic analysis.

It is sad that the author was not free at the time he wrote the book to explain his own critical contributions to cryptography and the impact on the course of World War II.

reviews: page 1, 2

Most people, acquainted with cryptology either through sensational cloak and dagger stories or through newspaper cryptograms, are not aware that many aspects of this art may be treated systematically, by means of some elementary mathematical concepts and methods. In this introduction, Professor Sinkov explains some of the fundamental techniques at the basis of cryptanalytic endeavor from which much more sophisticated techniques have evolved, especially since the advent of computers. The mathematical topics relevant in these discussions include modular arithmetic, a little number theory, some linear algebra of two dimensions with matrices, some combinatorics, and a little statistics. Also included are programs in BASIC developed by Paul Irwin for use in his course based on this book.

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