* Cryptography is the most effective way to achieve data security and is essential to e-commerce activities such as online shopping, stock trading, and banking

* This invaluable introduction to the basics of encryption covers everything from the terminology used in the field to specific technologies to the pros and cons of different implementations

* Discusses specific technologies that incorporate cryptography in their design, such as authentication methods, wireless encryption, e-commerce, and smart cards

* Based entirely on real-world issues and situations, the material provides instructions for already available technologies that readers can put to work immediately

* Expert author Chey Cobb is retired from the NRO, where she held a Top Secret security clearance, instructed employees of the CIA and NSA on computer security and helped develop the computer security policies used by all U.S. intelligence agencies