Matthew Robshaw

Block ciphers encrypt blocks of plaintext, messages, into blocks of ciphertext under the action of a secret key, and the process of encryption is reversed by decryption which uses the same user-supplied key. Block ciphers are fundamental to modern cryptography, in fact they are the most widely used cryptographic primitive – useful in their own right, and in the construction of other cryptographic mechanisms. In this book the authors provide a technically detailed, yet readable, account of the state of the art of block cipher analysis, design, and deployment. The authors first describe the most prominent block ciphers and give insights into their design. They then consider the role of the cryptanalyst, the adversary, and provide an overview of some of the most important cryptanalytic methods. The book will be of value to graduate and senior undergraduate students of cryptography and to professionals engaged in cryptographic design. An important feature of the presentation is the authors' exhaustive bibliography of the field, each chapter closing with comprehensive supporting notes.

Block ciphers encrypt blocks of plaintext, messages, into blocks of ciphertext under the action of a secret key, and the process of encryption is reversed by decryption which uses the same user-supplied key. Block ciphers are fundamental to modern cryptography, in fact they are the most widely used cryptographic primitive – useful in their own right, and in the construction of other cryptographic mechanisms. In this book the authors provide a technically detailed, yet readable, account of the state of the art of block cipher analysis, design, and deployment. The authors first describe the most prominent block ciphers and give insights into their design. They then consider the role of the cryptanalyst, the adversary, and provide an overview of some of the most important cryptanalytic methods. The book will be of value to graduate and senior undergraduate students of cryptography and to professionals engaged in cryptographic design. An important feature of the presentation is the authors' exhaustive bibliography of the field, each chapter closing with comprehensive supporting notes.

It is now more than five years since the Belgian block cipher Rijndael was chosen as the Advanced Encryption Standard {AES). Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmcn used algebraic techniques to provide an unparalleled level of assurance against many standard statistical cryptanalytic tech- niques. The cipher is a fitting tribute to their distinctive approach to cipher design. Since the publication of the AES, however, the very same algebraic structures have been the subject of increasing cryptanalytic attention and this monograph has been written to summarise current research. We hope that this work will be of interest to both cryptogra- phers and algebraists and will stimulate future research. During the writing of this monograph we have found reasons to thank many people. We are especially grateful to the British Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for their funding of the research project Security Analysis of the Advanced Encryption System (Grant GR/S42637), and to Susan Lagerstrom-Fifc and Sharon Palleschi at Springer. Wo would also hke to thank Glaus Diem, Maura Paterson, and Ludovic Perret for their valuable comments. Finally, the support of our families at home and our colleagues at work has been invaluable and particularly appreciated.

It is now more than five years since the Belgian block cipher Rijndael was chosen as the Advanced Encryption Standard {AES). Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmcn used algebraic techniques to provide an unparalleled level of assurance against many standard statistical cryptanalytic tech- niques. The cipher is a fitting tribute to their distinctive approach to cipher design. Since the publication of the AES, however, the very same algebraic structures have been the subject of increasing cryptanalytic attention and this monograph has been written to summarise current research. We hope that this work will be of interest to both cryptogra- phers and algebraists and will stimulate future research. During the writing of this monograph we have found reasons to thank many people. We are especially grateful to the British Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for their funding of the research project Security Analysis of the Advanced Encryption System (Grant GR/S42637), and to Susan Lagerstrom-Fifc and Sharon Palleschi at Springer. Wo would also hke to thank Glaus Diem, Maura Paterson, and Ludovic Perret for their valuable comments. Finally, the support of our families at home and our colleagues at work has been invaluable and particularly appreciated.