From the author who made "hacker" a household word comes a groundbreaking book about the most hotly debated subject of the digital age. "Crypto" concerns privacy in the information age and about the nerds and visionaries who, nearly 20 years ago, predicted that the Internet's greatest virtue--free access to information--was also its most perilous drawback: a possible end to privacy.

The loner -- The standard -- Public key -- Selling crypto -- Patents and keys -- Crypto anarchy -- The clipper chip -- Slouching toward crypto -- Epilogue: the open secret.