Author: Lisa Bock
Publisher: Packt
Publication Date: June 11, 2021
Publication Link
Prerequisites: A devious mind
Disclaimer: The publisher sent me a copy of this book for review. I promise that everything said here is my own opinion regardless. All reviews at the Cross Trained Mind are open and honest.
About This Book
This is a high-level introductory book on cryptography. It gives a comprehensive understanding of the field so that the reader can then talk the talk with specialists, architects, and solution managers.
Who Is This For?
I would recommend this book for students who need to know about cryptography, managers who will oversee cybersecurity specialists, and anyone who is interested in the field. It is not directly for someone who wants to implement the cryptography algorithms discusses as there are no implementation details. It can, however, give a conceptual understanding to a developer who would then need a follow-up resource.
Organization
The macrostructure of this book is well throughout and breaks it up into three sections: basic security considerations, general cryptographic techniques, and how cryptography is applied in production settings. Within each chapter, there is the overall content followed by a summary, questions (answers in the back), and further reading. The further reading is especially important and each chapter has several to dig deeper.
Did This Book Succeed?
This book acts as an excellent introduction but does not go further than that. After reading this book you will be able to converse about cryptography but not be able to do anything with it. This is fine depending on your role, so could be either a strength or a weakness.
Rating and Final Thoughts
Overall, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5.
As someone who wants to be able to build something after reading a technical book, I’m left a little high and dry. I’d love to see the author write a second, more hands-on book that pairs well with this one. In fact, a volume 1 conceptual and volume 2 practical book set might have worked better, especially if they were back and forth with each other.
