Edited by
Karl de Leeuw, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jan Bergstra, University of Amsterdam, Informatics Institute, The Netherlands
Description
Information Security is usually achieved through a mix of technical, organizational and legal measures. These may include the application
of cryptography, the hierarchical modeling of organizations in order to assure confidentiality, or the distribution of accountability
and responsibility by law, among interested parties.
The history of Information Security reaches back to ancient times and starts
with the emergence of bureaucracy in administration and warfare. Some aspects, such as the interception of encrypted messages during
World War II, have attracted huge attention, whereas other aspects have remained largely uncovered.
There has never been any effort
to write a comprehensive history. This is most unfortunate, because Information Security should be perceived as a set of communicating
vessels, where technical innovations can make existing legal or organisational frame-works obsolete and a breakdown of political authority
may cause an exclusive reliance on technical means.
This book is intended as a first field-survey. It consists of twenty-eight contributions,
written by experts in such diverse fields as computer science, law, or history and political science, dealing with episodes, organisations
and technical developments that may considered to be exemplary or have played a key role in the development of this field.
These include:
the emergence of cryptology as a discipline during the Renaissance, the Black Chambers in 18th century Europe, the breaking of German
military codes during World War II, the histories of the NSA and its Soviet counterparts and contemporary cryptology. Other subjects
are: computer security standards, viruses and worms on the Internet, computer transparency and free software, computer crime, export
regulations for encryption software and the privacy debate.
Audience:
This book is suitable for lecturers and practitioners in Computer Security, Privacy Law, Computer & Law, Business Administration and Political
Science, University Libraries. It is also suitable for lecturers in the History of Technology, the History of Computing, the History
of Intelligence and the Intelligence community.
