Satellite Encryption

Satellite communication is the fastest way to get digital information from one geographic location to another, and encryption algorithms can help keep prying eyes from deriving any value from intercepted transmissions. Satellite Encryption explains the need for secure satellite communications, including ways of implementing them, and discusses their implications (in business, government, and warfare). Author John Vacca, an excellent writer whose prose is both packed with technical detail and fun to read, focuses on United States satellite encryption policies.

This is far more than a networking or government-policy text, though its contents have bearing upon wide area network (WAN) designers and legislators alike. Vacca explains the physics involved in getting a satellite into the most desirable orbit, the computing techniques used for cracking keys, and various key-escrow strategies (including Clipper).

In addition, there's a lot of background information on national security topics other than satellite encryption, including missile-defense satellites and the purchase of dangerous military surplus by terrorist groups. There's a somewhat breathless warning of year 2000 mayhem, but Vacca's approach is generally very deliberate and informative. --David Wall

Topics covered: The importance of secure satellite communications, government encryption policies, implementation of satellite encryption, information-theft techniques, use and abuse of key-escrow schemes, and the role of satellite encryption in the future of business and government.