Publisher: Addison-Wesley, 1982, 400 pages
ISBN: 0-201-10150-5
Keywords: IT Security
Electronic computers have evolved from exiguous experimental enterprises in the 1940s to prolific practical data processing systems in the 1980s. As we have come to rely on these systems to process and store data, we have also come to wonder about their ability to protect valuable data.
Data security is the science and study of methods of protecting data in computer and communication systems from unauthorized disclosure and modification. The goal of this book is to introduce the mathematical principles of data security and to show how these principles apply to operating systems, database systems, and computer networks. The book is for students and professionals seeking an introduction to these principles. There are many references for those who would like to study specific topics further.
Data security has evolved rapidly since 1975. We have seen exciting developments in cryptography: public-key encryption, digital signatures, the Data Encryption Standard (DES), key safeguarding schemes, and key distribution protocols. We have developed techniques for verifying that programs do not leak confidential data, or transmit classified data to users with lower security clearances. We have found new controls for protecting data in statistical databases — and new methods of attacking these databases. We have come to a better understanding of the theoretical and practical limitations to security.
Because the field is evolving so rapidly, it has been difficult to write a book that is both coherent and current. Even as the manuscript was in production, there were new developments in the field. Although I was able to incorporate a few of these developments, they are not as well integrated into the book as I would like. In many cases, I was only able to include references.
Some areas are still unsettled, and I was unable to treat them to my satisfaction. One such area is operating system verification; another is the integration of cryptographic controls into operating systems and database systems. I hope to cover these topics better in later editions of the book.
Data security draws heavily from mathematics and computer science. I have assumed my audience has some background in programming, data structures, operating systems, database systems, computer architecture, probability theory, and linear algebra. Because I have found most computer science students have little background in information theory and number theory, I have included self-contained tutorials on these subjects. Because complexity theory is a relatively new area, I have also summarized it.
This book is used in a one-semester graduate computer science course at Purdue University. The students are assigned exercises, programming projects, and a term project. The book is suitable for a graduate or advanced undergraduate course and for independent study. There are a few exercises at the end of each chapter, most of which are designed so the reader can recognize the right answer. I have purposely not included solutions. There is also a puzzle.
One of the classical texts that you're supposed to have read. I fail to see why.
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