Eric Fogleman writes:

I'm interested in finding out what is currently happening in cryptography. My (basement-level) knowledge of it has come from heavy mathematics-oriented texts; these books and articles make it seem as though all of the work in cryptography is done by Ph.Ds at universities. I suspect that's not the whole story...

Well, you're on this list now, so you'll hear about some things that are happening. You should also read sci.crypt for miscellaneous news and chitchat about crypto technology and policy.

Questions:

- What companies, universities are doing work in cryptography? Are there people who get paid to "do cryptography" that don't work for the NSA? If so, where do they work?

RSA Data Security, Cylink, BBN, GE, Trusted Information Systems, M.I.T., Berkeley, Stanford, Montreal, are just a few of the many companies and universities doing crypto work. The list is really too long to go into. Many crypto functions lie outside the domain of the NSA (though not necessarily by their choice!): computer security, ATM machines and banking networks, personal indentification systems, electronic documents, locks and keys, etc.

- Does cryptography fall under mathematics or computer science at most universities?

Some of each, and sometimes under Electrical Engineering. Number theory, elliptic functions, etc., is generally in math, while complexity theory, algorithm analysis, etc. is generally under CS.

- Are the real developments in cryptographic algorithms coming from the universities, from companies or from cypherpunks?

Again, a mixture. "Cypherpunks" cannot claim, yet, to have had any breakthroughs. Perhaps someday.

- Any suggestions on what to read, who to talk to, what to experiment with to move up from basement-level knowledge of cryptography?

1. This list and its FAQ (coming soon). 2. sci.crypt 3. The several articles on crypto that have appeared in IEEE Spectrum, Communications of the ACM, Scientific American, and so on. Use your library's resources to find them. 4. More than a dozen good crypto books exist. One recent one, "Contemporary Cryptology," edited by Gus Simmons, has good review articles in many of the new areas. Good luck. -Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | PGP Public Key: by arrangement.