IJPAM: Volume 31, No. 3 (2006)

CRYPTOGRAPHY AND ZERO KNOWLEDGE

R.A. Mollin
Department of Mathematics
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, CANADA
e-mail: ramollin@math.ucalgary.ca
url: https://www.math.ucalgary.ca/ramollin


Abstract.This article is an overview designed to inform the reader concerning the importance of the notion of ``zero-knowledge" in cryptography. There are seriously sound reasons for wanting to study aspects of cryptography such as this. As we begin a new millennium, the effects of cryptography on our everyday lives will only increase since we are in the midst of a revolution in information processing and telecommunications. To ever increasing depths, our lives are impacted on a daily basis by interactions that require our sending of digital messages through cyberspace. This may involve the electronic transfer of digital dollars, the sending of personal ``e-mail" messages, or the sending of military secrets. What is common to all these types of message-sending is the need to keep these messages secret, and ensure that nobody tampers with the message. Hence, the importance of cryptography to our information-based society will only deepen in the new millennium. It is essential that we are equipped with the knowledge to understand and deal more effectively with the new reality.

Received: July 22, 2006

AMS Subject Classification: 94A60, 11T71, 68P25

Key Words and Phrases: zero-knowledge, cryptography

Source: International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics
ISSN: 1311-8080
Year: 2006
Volume: 31
Issue: 3