Cryptography underlies the provision of security for just about every kind of communications network, and mobile networks are no exception. Just about every chapter in this volume makes use of cryptographic techniques and terminology, with which the reader is assumed to have a basic familiarity. The role of this preliminary chapter is to provide a very brief introduction to cryptography. Whilst reading this chapter is no substitute for a more detailed study of the subject, the main terms are introduced, with the goal of enabling much of the remainder of the book to be understood. There are many books on cryptography, and the interested reader is strongly encouraged to consult these books to gain a better grasp of the topic. Two books that can be recommended are Piper and Murphy's recent brief introduc tion to cryptography, which provides a basic introduction to the main concepts of cryptography, and Menezes, van Oorschot and Vanstone's encyclopaedic work on cryptography, which, despite now being some six years old, remains an enormously reliable source of information on all aspects of cryptography.

Inspec keywords: cryptography; mobile radio; telecommunication security

Other keywords: mobile security; mobile communication; cryptographic technique

Subjects: Cryptography