.NET Security and Cryptography

The Nature of Cryptography and Security

The major focus of this book is on the theory and practice of .NET cryptography and security. But when you are in the thick of it, it is easy to lose sight of the following two fundamental questions regarding the basic nature of cryptography and security:

• Why are cryptography and security important?

• What can and cannot be done with cryptography and security?

The first question considers why we would want to use it, and the second question considers what we actually accomplish by using it. Let's take a moment now, before we get into all of the technical details in the upcoming chapters, to consider these two fundamental questions in some detail. Then, as you read through the remainder of this book, you might ...