The Joy of Cryptography: An Undergraduate Course in Provable Security

By Michael Rosulek

A comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals of provable security for advanced undergraduates.

This accessible textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the algorithms that keep our digital lives safe--how they work, what makes them different, and why they are secure. Mike Rosulek focuses on provable security--the process of defining what it means to be secure and mathematically proving security properties--to demystify the study of cryptography. Writing with clarity and humor, Rosulek covers basic building blocks before moving to symmetric-key encryption and authentication, public-key cryptography, and advanced topics. Employing a novel pseudocode-based approach to learning provable security and security proofs, The Joy of Cryptography empowers anyone with a small amount of programming experience to reason formally about security properties.
Uses pseudocode-based reasoning to make provable security accessible to undergraduatesFocuses on proven methods used in practice todayOffers rigorous treatment of symmetric-key and public-key encryption and authenticationIncludes advanced material on encrypted messaging, post-quantum cryptography, and zero-knowledge proofsFeatures ancillary resources

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 026204997X
• ISBN13: 9780262049979
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 702 Pages
• Weight: 2.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.9" x 9.1"