Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 21
Outlook
It would appear that we have reached the limits of what is possible to
achieve with computer technology, although one should be careful with
such statements, as they tend to sound pretty silly in 5 years.
— John von Neumann
1
After having overviewed, discussed, and put into perspective the state of the art in
cryptography, it may be worthwhile to elaborate a little bit on possible or likely
trends and developments in the future. In spite of John von Neumann's quote given
above, we try to provide an outlook that goes beyond the next five years. Note,
however, that the outlook is subjective and based on the author's own assessment.
Other people working in the field may have a different perception and may come
to different conclusions (especially if they work for companies that market specific
security technologies, mechanisms, services, or products).
We have both a theoretical and a practical viewpoint to offer. Before we
begin, however, we want to note that cryptography as a field of study and area of
research has become mature and is establishing itself as an independent science. An
increasing number of universities provide courses and diplomas on cryptography and
information security. As a consequence of this development, we have experienced
and will continue to see a significant level of diversification and specialization in
cryptographic research. In the past, we have seen cryptographers who were able
to talk about every topic that is directly or indirectly related to cryptography. This
is more and more seldom the case. Today, there are cryptographers who are only
able to talk about integer factorization algorithms and algorithms to solve the DLP,
1
John von Neumann lived from 1903 to 1957.
