Cryptography resources

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Learn cryptography from interactive platforms and courses. 

• CryptoHack (https://cryptohack.org/): Solve puzzles and challenges to learn about cryptographic algorithms like RSA and AES.
• Coursera Courses  (https://www.coursera.org/courses?query=cryptography): Take courses in cryptography, applied cryptography, number theory, and more. 
• CryptoTool (https://www.cryptool.org): Learn cryptography through visual demonstrations and more. 

Dive into the technical details for theoretical or applied cryptography through in-depth books on cryptography by renowned cryptographers. 

• Serious Cryptography: A Practical Introduction to Modern Encryption by Jean-Philippe Aumasson (https://a.co/d/5wCkgPQ): This book gives an overview of many topics in applied cryptography, including authenticated encryption, secure randomness, algorithms, and protocols. 
• Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms and Source Code in C by Bruce Schneier (https://a.co/d/hPOLQto): This book describes cryptography algorithms, gives practical implementation advice, and shows programmers how to build security into their software and systems. 
• Mathematics of Public Key Cryptography by Steven D. Galbraith (https://a.co/d/0O9ecN5): This book dives into the mathematics used in modern cryptography, especially the mathematics of RSA, Diffie-Hellman, elliptic curve cryptography, and lattice-based cryptography. 

Stay up to date on the latest cryptography trends and advancements with blogs and forums. 

• Schneier on Security by Bruce Schneier (https://www.schneier.com/)
• A Few Thoughts on Cryptographic Engineering by Matthew Green (https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/)
• Crypto Stack Exhange (https://crypto.stackexchange.com/)
• Naked Security by Sohpos (https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/category/cryptography/)
• Cryptomathic (https://www.cryptomathic.com/news-events/blog)
  

Learn about research, new algorithms, and standards in cryptography from cryptography-relevant organizations. 

• National Institutes of Standards and Technology (https://csrc.nist.gov): The National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) has cryptography standards and algorithm specifications. In particular,  the NIST competition for new public-key cryptography that is secure against quantum computers (post-quantum cryptography) has details about the newest cryptographic algorithms and links each algorithm’s websites to learn more (https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/post-quantum-cryptography).
• International Association for Cryptologic Research (https://www.iacr.org/): The International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) is a non-profit that furthers research in cryptology and related fields.

Attend conferences to learn about the newest research, implementations, or attacks in cryptography and network with other cryptography enthusiasts. 

• Crypto and Eurocrypt (https://iacr.org/conferences/): annual conferences on cryptography research
• RSA Conference ( https://www.rsaconference.com/):  an annual conference on cybersecurity that covers cryptography
• Black Hat and DEF CON ( https://www.blackhat.com/ and https://www.defcon.org/): security conferences that feature cryptography talks and workshops

Implement and break cryptographic algorithms from popular cryptographic software, libraries, and tools. 

• OpenSSL - an open-source cryptography library
  • Website: https://www.openssl.org/
  • GitHub repository: https://github.com/openssl/openssl
• Bouncy Castle - a collection of cryptographic libraries for Java and C#
  • Website: https://www.bouncycastle.org/
  • GitHub repository: https://github.com/bcgit/bc-java
• NaCl and libsodium - a modern, easy-to-use software library for encryption, decryption, signatures, password hashing, and more
  • Website: https://nacl.cr.yp.to/,  https://libsodium.gitbook.io/doc/
  • GitHub repository:  https://github.com/dchest/nacl-fast,   https://github.com/jedisct1/libsodium
• PyCryptodome - an easy-to-use self-contained Python package of low-level cryptographic primitives.
  • Website: https://pypi.org/project/pycryptodome/
  • GitHub repository:  https://github.com/Legrandin/pycryptodome/
• Crypto++ - a free C++ class library of cryptographic schemes
  • Website: https://www.cryptopp.com/
  • GitHub repository: https://github.com/weidai11/cryptopp
• Hashcat - a password recovery tool
  • Website: https://hashcat.net/hashcat/
  • GitHub repository: https://github.com/hashcat/hashcat
• scrypt - a password-based key derivation function designed to be more secure against brute-force attacks than traditional key derivation functions
  • GitHub repository: https://github.com/Tarsnap/scrypt

Learn and verify your knowledge through certifications. Note that certifications are more helpful for starting out as a cybersecurity professional or cryptography consultant than for a role in theoretical cryptography or research. It’s important to research the requirements and benefits of different certifications. 

• EC-Council Certified Encryption Specialist (https://iclass.eccouncil.org/our-courses/certified-encryption-specialist-eces/): a certification that includes setting up a VPN, encrypting a drive, and hands-on cryptography experience. 
• Comptia Security+ (https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security): a great all-around security certification when starting out in cybersecurity. 
• CISSP by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)²  (https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/CISSP): a more advanced certification for individuals with 4-5 years of professional cybersecurity experience. 
• IBM Certified Associate Developer - Quantum Computation using Qiskit v0.2X (https://www.ibm.com/training/certification/C0010300): While this is not a cybersecurity certification, it does show proficiency in quantum computing, which is relevant for a career in cryptography.