Overview of Cryptography
Gary Kessler's overview is a free, evolving tutorial on cryptography that dates back to 1999.
About Overview of Cryptography
An Overview of Cryptography by Gary C. Kessler defines terms and concepts behind basic cryptographic methods and provides a way to compare cryptographic schemes. It covers secret-key, public-key, and hash functions, trust models, and algorithms in action such as RSA, DES, AES and PGP, along with protocols for secure transactions and email.
The tutorial dates to 1999 and has been revised over time. It states that cryptography is necessary but not sufficient for secure communications and covers only a first step toward better security.
Key features
- Explains secret-key, public-key, and hash function cryptography
- Covers trust models including PGP, Kerberos, and certificates
- Walks through algorithms like RSA, DES, AES, ECC
- Includes sections on SSL/TLS, IPsec, S/MIME, password protection
- Provides math notes on Boolean logic, modulo, entropy
- Lists references, acronyms, figures and tables
- Available as an evolving tutorial since 1999
- Defines basic terms and explains how to compare schemes
- Includes math notes, references, acronyms, figures, and tables
- Covers cryptography only, not all steps needed for security
Overview of Cryptography at a glance
- Category
- Education & Learning › Learn to Code
- Type
- Website
- Pricing
- Not confirmed. Check the site
- Platforms
- Web
- Open source
- Not stated
- Last checked
- Oct 5, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
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