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Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government--Saving Privacy in the Digital Age by [Steven Levy]

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Steven Levy

Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government--Saving Privacy in the Digital Age Kindle Edition

by Steven Levy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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If you've ever made a secure purchase with your credit card over the Internet, then you have seen cryptography, or "crypto", in action. From Stephen Levy—the author who made "hackers" a household word—comes this account of a revolution that is already affecting every citizen in the twenty-first century. Crypto tells the inside story of how a group of "crypto rebels"—nerds and visionaries turned freedom fighters—teamed up with corporate interests to beat Big Brother and ensure our privacy on the Internet. Levy's history of one of the most controversial and important topics of the digital age reads like the best futuristic fiction.

Print length

370 pages
Language

English
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Penguin Books
Publication date

January 8, 2001
File size

1138 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From The Washington Post

Crypto is a detailed and disturbing report. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Library Journal

What happens to privacy when computer geeks and big business battle the government for free access to information? From the author of Hackers.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Steven Levy is the author of Hackers, which has been in print for more than fifteen years, as well as Insanely Great: The Life & Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything. He is also Newsweek's chief technology writer and has been a contributing writer to Wired since its inception. He lives in New York City with his wife and son. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Amazon.com Review

If the National Security Agency (NSA) had wanted to make sure that strong encryption would reach the masses, it couldn't have done much better than to tell the cranky geniuses of the world not to do it. Author Steven Levy, deservedly famous for his enlightening Hackers, tells the story of the cypherpunks, their foes, and their allies in Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government. From the determined research of Whitfield Diffie and Marty Hellman, in the face of the NSA's decades-old security lock, to the commercial world's turn-of-the-century embrace of encrypted e-commerce, Levy finds drama and intellectual challenge everywhere he looks. Although he writes, "Behind every great cryptographer, it seems, there is a driving pathology," his respect for the mathematicians and programmers who spearheaded public key encryption as the solution to Information Age privacy invasion shines throughout. Even the governmental bad guys are presented more as hapless control fetishists who lack the prescience to see the inevitability of strong encryption as more than a conspiracy of evil.

Each cryptological advance that was made outside the confines of the NSA's Fort Meade complex was met with increasing legislative and judicial resistance. Levy's storytelling acumen tugs the reader along through mathematical and legal hassles that would stop most narratives in their tracks--his words make even the depressingly silly Clipper chip fiasco vibrant. Hardcore privacy nerds will value Crypto as a review of 30 years of wrangling; those readers with less familiarity with the subject will find it a terrific and well-documented launching pad for further research. From notables like Phil Zimmerman to obscure but important figures like James Ellis, Crypto dishes the dirt on folks who know how to keep a secret. --Rob Lightner

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The author of the 1994 sleeper Hackers reveals how a group of men developed methods for encrypting digital transmissions for use in the private sector. As the digital age was dawning in the late 1970s, a major stumbling block to delivering information and conducting transactions via high-speed networks was the lack of security from outside parties who might wish to intercept the data (even though the National Security Agency had acres of computers dedicated to protecting government secrets and even more designed to decode other countries' messages). Widely available systems only began to emerge after a range of free thinkers, including such crypto legends as Whit Diffie and Marty Hellman, began to devote their considerable mind power to the issue. After a slow start, Levy's story steadily builds momentum as the crypto pioneers do battle with the NSA, look for ways to commercialize their discoveries and fight for the federal government's approval of the strongest encryption methods. The chief technology writer for Newsweek, Levy locates the heart of the matter in the struggle to balance the need for the most effective encryption possible with the government's need to decode messages that might endanger national securityAa struggle in which privacy, so far, has prevailed. Agent, Dominick Abel . (Jan. 8) Forecast: Levy's reputation grows with each book, and publicity that links this title to his bestselling Hackers will ensure strong sales. The title is backed by a six-city author tour and national radio satellite tour. The major promo campaign online, where Levy is minor royalty, may be most effective, but the book's biggest boost will come from the planned excerpt in Newsweek.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Scientific American

The government's argument, doggedly pressed mainly by such security-obsessed arms as the Department of Defense, the Justice Department and the National Security Agency: cryptography should be under firm government control, with strong codes to protect national security and weak ones for the public so that the government can break them to catch criminals and terrorists. The counterargument, pressed with equal determination by a mixed group that Levy rather unflatteringly calls the Cypherpunks: secure codes are vital to business transactions in the digital age and to people wanting privacy in electronic communications. Levy, chief technology writer for Newsweek, goes deeply into the 30-year battle over which side would prevail. He tours the landmarks of the battlefield, among them the government's Data Encryption Standard, public-key cryptography, the key escrow plan and the Clipper Chip. And he vividly portrays the leading actors on both sides. In the end, it was the burgeoning of the Internet and the necessities of e-commerce that won the day for the Cypherpunks. As Judge Betty B. Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit put it in a decision handed down last year: "Government attempts to control encryption ... may well implicate not only First Amendment rights of cryptographers but also the constitutional rights of each of us as potential recipients of encryption's bounty."

EDITORS OF SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"Gripping and illuminating." —The Wall Street Journal

"A great David-and-Goliath story—humble hackers hoodwink sinister spooks." —Time

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Booklist

The government monopoly of sophisticated codes is no more, dissolved by the invention of "public key" cryptography, and Levy here recounts how a handful of mathematicians and computer scientists did it. Simon Singh succinctly described public key's principal creators and operating principles in The Code Book (1999). Levy emphasizes the story's business aspects and patent disputes among the inventors. In addition, he folds in incidents involving emissaries from the secret world of the National Security Agency, who subsequently helped to break the agency's lock on high-level codes. Profiling names now legendary in cryptography--such as Whit Diffie, Phil Zimmerman, or a trio whose acronymic RSA algorithm makes secure e-commerce possible--Levy lucidly limns their counterintuitive thinking about codes (especially the idea that keys, based on gigantic prime numbers, be exchanged in the open for all to see). Culminating with reportage on their efforts to commercialize and export public-key crypto, which the NSA successfully lobbied the Clinton administration to limit, Levy's history is a fascinating intersection of people, privacy, and power. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004IATDCO
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (January 8, 2001)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 8, 2001
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1138 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 370 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #846,532 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #97 in Business & Management Technology History
- #202 in Online Safety & Piracy
- #301 in Computer Cryptography

Customer Reviews:
4.5 184 ratings

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Steven Levy

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Levy is editor at large at Wired. Previous positions include editor in chief at Backchannel; and chief technology writer and a senior editor for Newsweek. In early 2020, his book "Facebook: The Inside Story" will appear, the product of over three years studying the company, which granted unprecedented access to its employees and executives. Levy has written previous seven books and has had articles published in Harper's, Macworld, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Premiere, and Rolling Stone. Steven has won several awards during his 30+ years of writing about technology, including Hackers, which PC Magazine named the best Sci-Tech book written in the last twenty years and, Crypto, which won the grand eBook prize at the 2001 Frankfurt Book festival. "In the Plex," the definitive book on Google, was named the Best Business Book of 2011 on both Amazon and Audible.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

184 global ratings

5 star		69%
4 star		22%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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SLD12DAY

An engaging and important read, even after nearly 20 years

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

I bought this book based on the recommendation of the professor who teaches my cyber security class, and since it is out of print, I took a chance and got a used one. The condition of the book is far better than I anticipated and the seller shipped it super fast.

As for the content, it is interesting and engaging and Mr. Levy has done a great job at conveying the history and importance of cryptography and how it relates to cyber security on a level that is neither overly technical nor dumbed down. While the book was originally published nearly two decades ago, the information is still relevant today. He has written several other books including The Unicorn’s Secret: Murder in the Age of Aquarius, another I very much enjoyed.

Whether or not you are working in the cyber security field, I feel like this is an important book for everyone to read, especially with all the rumblings of Russian hackers, data breeches on credit cards and social media accounts and all the other hacking and phreaking that’s going on right under our noses. Knowledge is power, and it is our best defense against those who seek to hurt us. This book will help you find your ammunition.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Donald A. Tevault

Important history

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

This story about the development of computer cryptography is both fascinating and important. The book is very well-written, and very easy to read. Its importance lies in the fact that it explains the machinations of government agencies to prevent the masses from using strong cryptography, and how the good guys in the software industry were able to overcome the obstacles. So, if you need a good read, go ahead and grab a copy.

Helpful

Marcelo P. Lima

Excellent short history on the human side of pub. key crypto

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 30, 2001

Verified Purchase

This easy-to-ready short history by writer Steven Levy, who has written numerous articles for Wired, is a very well-researched volume on the human side of public-key cryptography.
Levy has interviewed all of the major players: Diffie, Adleman, Chaum, Zimmerman, and others; he's done nearly a decade of research on the subject, and monitored the sci.crypt.* newsgroups. Clearly, this is an authoritative account of the short 30-year history of public key.
The main theme of the book is how the NSA tried to stifle new developments by the researchers, placing secrecy orders and classifying their patents and papers. Throughout the book, as Levy draws out the characters, it's the crypto community vs. the government, until ultimately the cypherpunks win out.
This book doesn't contain a single diagram; no photos, and no equations at all. So if you're looking for a technical introduction to crypto, look elsewhere; this is purely an informally-written account on the people behind the scenes.
Five stars, for what it is; sure, Levy writes with magazine-style prose, but this fits the high-level view he takes on the subject. Most importantly, this volume was exhaustively researched and has the collaboration of all of the key players, which lends Levy's account great credibility.

13 people found this helpful

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Paul Leskinen

and is an excellent summary of how public key cryptography came into being

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 13, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book held my interest from start to finish, and is an excellent summary of how public key cryptography came into being, as well as a good history of cryptography in the public sector. Steven Levy writes in a style that is very easy to read. I found the history of the battle between government (e.g. the NSA) and private encryption technology to be quite interesting. I would recommend this book to those interested in the field of cryptography as a good history of the private development of crypto. It's not overly technical, although it does discuss some basics of algorithms and how they developed over time.

Helpful

John Hanley

Pretty Good Presentation :-)

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 13, 2003

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed reading this book; Mr. Levy has an engaging and readable style. One can always wish for more, but in my case, I would have liked a chapter about crypto activities in other countries besides the U.S. and Great Britain. For example, what do we know, if anything about what the Soviet Union or, say, Israel was doing in this field over the years. As example, do we have evidence that U.S. developments were actually put to use by other countries. Otherwise, for me, now on to read "Hackers"!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Neil Bacon

Interesting Book on One of the Most Important Discoveries of Our Time

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 12, 2015

Verified Purchase

Fascinating book. Recommended for anyone who is interested in how great ideas get to market and how they can be smothered in their crib by government and, frankly, just bad management decisions. Some of the descriptions of encryption techniques get a bit heavy, but a) I was interested in that part too and b) if that is not your thing, jump ahead.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

I gifted this to my boyfriend and he really likes it. Recommended for someone who is also studying cryptography.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 10, 2013

Verified Purchase

I'll save the complete review for goodreads, but as someone who is semi-interested in cryptography this is a fun read. The lengths that the NSA went to in order to quash attempts at building solid encryption are astounding. This book reads like a spy novel... albeit one with rather pasty and doughy spies.

The book was in perfect condition and arrived quickly.

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Jeremy Walton

Tales from the crypt

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 8, 2018

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I've enjoyed Levy's other books on technology (beginning, a long time ago, with his classic Hackers) so was looking forward to reading his account of the development of modern cryptography. More specifically, the period he covers is from the mid-70s - when Diffie and Hellman solved the problem of distributing cryptographic keys, which immediately led to the development of public key cryptography - to the end of the 20th century, when the Internet was exploding in popularity and usage.

He stops there because this book was written in 2000, but it's still an important read because of the way it describes the technical developments in cryptography and - more compellingly - the tension between researchers in this field, government agencies and commercial companies. Each of these communities had a specific and - usually - contentious view of the priorities associated with cryptography and privacy. The battle between them came to the fore in the debate over the clipper chip: an encryption device developed by the National Security Agency for voice and data messages which included a back-door to allow law enforcement to decode transmissions. Clipper was defunct less than three years after its introduction, partly because the government lost the debate over privacy, but mostly because of the widespread use of independently-developed public key cryptography.

The issues discussed in this book have only become more important with the further extension of the Internet and our reliance on it in every day use (the book describes the initial attempts to introduce digital cash, for example), and society's evolving ideas about the prices we're willing to pay for privacy. Recommended.

Federico Ruiz

Un libro extremadamente interesante, entrega irreprochable

Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on August 3, 2017

Verified Purchase

Este libro presenta de modo ameno la evolución de la criptografía desde finales de la segunda guerra mundial hasta nuestros días.
Es muy útil para entender una evolución que ha desembocado en Blockchain, por ejemplo
Se lle como una novela y contiene las referencias necesarias para profundizar.

El libro aparentemente no se se publica pero lo adquirí de uno de los vendedores de Amamzon, muy buen estado, entrega rápida y sin problemas

One person found this helpful

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la Plume de ma Tante

If you want the inside story on the NSA and GCHQ you must read this book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 8, 2014

Verified Purchase

A fascinating and incredibly detailed examination of the development of public key encryption by private individuals and their continuing battles with the US Government and the bureaucratic empire that the NSA had become. This account places Edward Snowden as only the latest of many people who have suffered for revealing the lack of clothes these emperors wear. Not difficult to read, written by a journalist rather than a computer geek, this is a splendid account of a struggle that is not over yet.

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