Monday, July 28, 2003		Book Review

Author’s reassurance sets this book apart
Review by Ali Hasnain
Cryptography and Network Security by Atul Kahate. Tata McGraw-Hill. Price Rs. 250. Pages 435

CRYPTOGRAPHY and Network Security is another feather in the cap of the publishers, given the mark they have made for themselves in providing reliable and comprehensive guides and references for students and teachers alike.

Atul Kahate (the author) has done a commendable job of demystifying Internet security concepts and has brought forth in his own unique style the whole gamut of information to better serve the curiosity of the student without in any way compromising on the quality and content of the work and thereby insuring that the book’s relevance is not lost to the hardcore IT professional. Atul’s expertise reflects in his simple and lucid explanations of what would otherwise be rather difficult propositions to grasp, especially for the student. Self-explanatory diagrams have been liberally used, more than 400 according to the author. In some cases, they make the explanations rather redundant! As he himself says, "To satisfy the diverse needs of both these categories," (IT professionals and students) "the book is designed carefully. On the one hand, it touches upon the aspects that the IT professionals like to know (conceptual level), and it also goes into the depth of every aspect, to satisfy the needs of the students." Atul uses day-to-day examples and real life situations and relates it to his explanation of various security concepts that is a very effective tool.

The book is divided into 10 chapters ranging from basic concepts of security, cryptography (for the uninitiated, the author has gone at great lengths to explain the whole concept of cryptography with examples and methods of encoding correspondence), it’s history, types of cryptography, its relevance vis-`E0-vis computers and the Internet, its adoption to secure information transfer on the internet and computer networks. The book also discusses at length, PKI models – hierarchical as well as horizontal, certifying authorities – their role and duty. There is a chapter dedicated to security protocols like SSL, SET, WAP, electronic money and e-mail security. Authentication issues, Network Security and Case Studies on Cryptography have individual chapters dedicated to them.

Since the whole basis of cryptography revolves around algorithms, modular mathematics and other mathematical concepts, the author has been sensitive to the need and has explained all such propositions in detail in the appendices of the book. It’s an essential pre-requisite for understanding this concept.

Even more unique is his declarations in various parts of the book that in case what is about to follow seems to be complicated or difficult the reader may move on to the next topic without any loss of continuity. I don’t recall a single book during my student days that carried such a reassuring and empathising statement!

Each chapter is followed by a chapter summary, key terms and concepts, multiple-choice questions (with answers at the end of the book), review questions and designing and programming exercises. The book culminates with an exhaustive Glossary. All in all, its good value for money, both for IT professional as well as students.