The uneasy relationship between mathematics and cryptography
Neal Koblitz
Notices of the AMS,
54 (2007), 972-979.
Abstract:
The worlds of academic mathematical research and commercial and governmental
application, with their occasionally distinct values and practices, meet and
sometimes clash in the study and implementation of cryptosystems. The author
describes his own experiences, and those of mathematical colleagues, in this
intersection.
Journal paper
French translation by
Marie-José
Durand-Richard and Philippe Guillot
Responses: The Notices article received
much attention and there were numerous responses, many of them angry and
emotional, from prominent researchers who work in theoretical cryptography
or theoretical computer science.
Here are some excerpts from the angry responses:
- Letters to the editor (Notices of the AMS, December 2007) by Oded Goldreich, Boaz Barak, Jonathan Katz, Hugo Krawczyk, and a response by Neal Koblitz.
- Letter to the editor (Notices of the AMS, January 2008) by Avi Wigderson and a response by Neal Koblitz.
- Blog: The swift-boating of modern cryptography (Luca Trevisan).
- Blog: The Koblitz controversy: A reaction (Jonathan Katz).
- Blog: How mathematicians view computer scientists? (Michael Mitzenmacher).
- Blog: Shorter Koblitz (David Eppstein).
Here are some excerpts from the angry responses:
- "petulant... baseless... slander" —Avi Wigderson
- "non sequiturs... personal attacks... petulance" —Luca Trevisan
- "abhorrent... personal screed... belligerent name-calling... sheer elitism... snobbery at its purest" —Jonathan Katz
- "disingenuous... misleading... emotional and unfounded attacks" —Hugo Krawczyk
- "Koblitz is a liar... Koblitz and his NSA buddies" —Anonymous