An intro to elliptical key cryptography

This lengthy and highly technical primer provides a gentle yet thorough introduction to elliptical key cryptography (ECC), said to be ideal for resource-constrained systems because it provides more "security per bit" than other types of asymmetric cryptography. The paper is from Certicom, which markets Security Builder toolkits targeting various popular desktop, server, and embedded operating systems. Asymmetric cryptography is a marvellous technology. Its uses are many and varied.

And when you need it, you need it. For many situations in distributed network environments, asymmetric cryptography is a must during communications. If you're taming key distribution issues with a public key infrastructure (PKI), you're using asymmetric cryptography. If you're designing or employing any kind of network protocol or application requiring secure communications, to come up with a practical solution, you're going to have to use asymmetric cryptography.