Crypto
by Steven Levy · first published 2001
76% recommend24% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Readable narrative history of the 1970s-90s fight over public cryptography, covering export rules, the Clipper Chip and PGP. Suits readers wanting context for today's encryption and privacy debates.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
From the author who made "hacker" a household word comes a groundbreaking book about the most hotly debated subject of the digital age. Crypto concerns privacy in the information age and about the nerds and visionaries who, nearly 20 years ago, predicted that the Internet's greatest virtue--free access to information--was also its most perilous drawback: a possible end to privacy.
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Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but anyone who worked on cryptography back in the 1970s (and who wasn't working for their government) was being fairly subversive. Steven Levy wrote a great book about the people involved called Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the…
on “Ask HN: Technologies created by (evil) hackers” ↗…interested in tech folklore. I'm sure even Googlers would find stories they hadn't heard before. The story of Google is an epic story fit for Homeric interpretation. Steven Levy also wrote the excellent Crypto which covers the emergence of strong public cryptography. It is not a story of accidental discovery, but about active sabotage by the NSA and perseverance by a number of visionaries like Whit Diffie and…
on “Google, at scale: A brief review of "In the Plex" (the story of Google)” ↗In the wake of new attempts to "ban encryption", I'd recommend reading Crypto by Steven Levy (2001). https://www.stevenlevy.com/index.php/books/crypto
on “Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?” ↗…buggy version is slightly shorter but I depended on an incorrect reading of some tricky wording in the docs and didn't test thoroughly enough. I'm considering turning the tattoo into a diff. I recommend Crypto by Steven Levy as a high-level refresher on the events of the time. (https://www.bookfinder.com/search/?isbn=9780670859504&st=xl&...)
on “Wine bricks saved the U.S. wine industry during Prohibition (2015)” ↗That was a great book. Also check out "Crypto" by Steven Levy.
on “A hacker's loneliness” ↗I really enjoyed this book: "Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age" http://www.amazon.com/Crypto-Rebels-Government-Privacy-Digit... Doesn't really teach crypto methods, but it gives a solid…
on “Ask HN: Resources to learn more about cryptography” ↗…simple - everyone is being spied on. Not to tinfoil hat the issue but: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/ EEEVVERYONE If you want to really get a feel for the situation, read Crypto: http://www.amazon.com/Crypto-Rebels-Government-Privacy-Digit... It's a book about how cryptography was finally accepted and allowed in the U.S., and how the NSA handled the growth of everyday crypto…
on “NSA: It Would Violate Your Privacy to Say if We Spied on You” ↗The definitive account is Steven Levy's book "Crypto": http://www.amazon.com/Crypto-Rebels-Government-Privacy-Digit...
on “CipherSaber - A 'political' encryption cipher” ↗The history of crypto in the US is actually much more interesting than that and for a time exporting any crypto tools was a felony (exporting munitions). Steven Levy's book goes into pretty good detail about this: http://www.amazon.com/Crypto-Rebels-Government-Privacy-Digit...…
on “Snowden’s First Move Against the NSA Was a Party in Hawaii” ↗For anybody who hasn't already read it, I highly recommend the book: "Crypto" by Steven Levy. I was 30% of my way through the book before I started recognizing real world events, news stories, whispered computer secrets; and realized that it wasn't a fictional book and was instead…
on “NSA’s Backdoor Key” ↗I've been buying lots of cryptography books lately as I wanted to learn about the evolution of our understanding of this topic. How about some of the following: - "Real-World Cryptography" is my recommendation for the first book to…
on “Ask HN: Any interesting books about cryptography?” ↗…mention Steven Levy's Hackers as an obvious one to read. Some others I've read: - What the dormouse said (this one was just okay, but interesting to see some of the cultural context at the time). - Crypto (about the history of cryptography). I really liked this one, but people I've recommended it to found it dry. - In the Plex (history of Google) - Masters of Doom (John Carmack, John Romero and Id Software)…
on “Ask HN: Computer Science/History Books?” ↗First, thanks for recommending Steven Levy's Crypto. It's a historical account that I think more hackers need to read. I'm probably on the hairy edge of the "young readers" you've mentioned. I'm 27. My present view on the recent NSA leaks is a distinct…
on “NSA's Backdoor Key from Lotus Notes” ↗Read Crypto by Steven Levy. An amazing account of how cryptography was finally opened up for the Internet. Because before the Net, the wording of the law was very, very restrictive in a way that made no sense with…
on “Joe Biden tried to ban email encryption back in 1991” ↗To echo everyone; Hackers is a great book. Steven Levy books are both compelling reads and content rich. Crypto and In the plex both have their place as well. http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field... I would also say "The Information" by James Gleick. It is a page turner with some neat concepts.…
on “Ask HN: How to learn about the history of computing?” ↗