RSA Labs Frequently Asked Questions: Foreword

# Foreword

This document is the third version of RSA Laboratories' popular publication, Frequently Asked Questions About Today's Cryptography . Completely revised and updated, it covers twice as many questions as the second version, which was published in September 1993.

The FAQ represents the contributions of numerous individuals. Particular appreciation is due to Paul Fahn, who wrote the first and second versions while an RSA Laboratories research assistant in 1992 and 1993, and to Sambasivam Valliappan, who drafted the third version as an RSA Laboratories research assistant in Summer 1995.

Other contributors to the third version include Jim Bidzos, Victor Chang, Dana Ellingen, Patrick Lee, Hoa Ly, Paul Livesay, Tim Matthews, and Kurt Stammberger from RSA Data Security, Michael Baum from VeriSign, Stuart Haber from Bellcore, Bart Preneel from Katholieke Universiteit, and Scott Stornetta from Surety Technologies. Special thanks to Patrick Lee for carefully reading though the final draft and providing many helpful suggestions.

The technical editors are RSA Laboratories' chief scientist Burton S. Kaliski Jr., and research scientists Matthew J.B. Robshaw and Yiqun Lisa Yin.

Comments on the FAQ are encouraged. Address correspondence to: