The Foundations of Cryptography Volume I (Basic Tools)

Cryptography is concerned with the conceptualization, definition and construction of computing systems that address security concerns. The design of cryptographic systems must be based on firm foundations.

This book focuses on the basic mathematical tools needed for for cryptographic design: computational difficulty (one-way functions), pseudorandomness and zero-knowledge proofs. The emphasis is on the clarification of fundamental concepts, and on demonstrating the feasibility of solving several central cryptographic problems.

The book is suitable for use in a graduate course on cryptography and as a reference book for experts. The author assumes basic familiarity with the design and analysis of algorithms; some knowledge of complexity theory and probability is also useful.