@Article{AR78b, author = { Leonard M. Adleman and Ronald L. Rivest }, title = { The Use of Public Key Cryptography in Communication System Design }, pages = { 20--23 }, doi = { 10.1109/MCOM.1978.1089778 }, journal = { IEEE Communications Society Magazine (Special Issue on Communications Privacy) }, volume = { 16 }, number = { 6 }, date = { 1978-11 }, OPTyear = { 1978 }, OPTmonth = { November }, OPTannote = { (Reprint of Proc. NCC paper.)}, abstract = { Since the time of Caesar, cryptography has been used in the design of secure communications systems. Recently, Diffie and Hellman [2] have introduced a new type of cryptographic method, based on ``trapdoor'' functions, which promises to be of great value in the design of such systems. We present a review of public-key cryptosystems, followed by examples of communications systems which make particularly elegant use of their properties. }, }