Date of Award

1998

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Mathematics

Advisor

Ali E. Ozluk

Second Committee Member

William M. Snyder

Third Committee Member

Henrik Bresinsky

Abstract

Since the earliest times, individuals and groups of individuals have been interested in communicating sensitive information in a manner which would guarantee that such information could not be arbitrarily received. Further, such information was to be received by select recipients and this required that a means of secure information transmission be found and employed. To these ends, methods of information encryption have ever since been sought and employed. The entire study and practice of this activity, cryptology, the science of message encryption and decryption, provides a framework for this thesis. In particular, the development of cryptology has been influenced by some specific areas of mathematics, employing abstract mathematical concepts and utilizing algebraic structures known as elliptic curves. It is with respect to these structures and their utilization in specific cryptosystems, called elliptic curve cryptosystems on which this thesis focuses. More specifically, this thesis is concerned with the implementation of such a cryptosystem and is a demonstration of that implementation. Additional pertinent examples, illustrations and supporting computer programs are included to present a self-contained work.

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