Cryptography

As society speeds, and in most cases is literally dragged, into the new information society, the kind of face-to-face and paper-traceable communication that characterized the nondigital communication before the information revolution—the kind of communication that guaranteed personal privacy and security—is increasingly becoming redefined into the new information society where faceless digital communication regimes are guaranteeing neither information and personal security nor personal privacy. Centuries-old and trusted global transactionsTransactions and commercial systems that guaranteed business exchange and payment systems are being eroded and replaced with difficult to trust and easily counterfeitable electronic systems. The fight for personal privacy has never been any more fierce, and the integrityIntegrity and confidentiality of data have become more urgent than ever before. The security and trust of digital transactionTransactions systems have become of critical importance as more and more organizations and businesses join the e-commerce train. Cryptography is being increasingly used to fight off this massive invasion of individual privacy and security, to guarantee data integrityIntegrity and confidentiality, and to bring trust in global e-commerce. It guarantees authorization, authentication, integrityIntegrity, confidentiality, and nonrepudiationNonrepudiation in all communications and data exchanges in the new information society. This chapter focuses on this.