The internet is not a secure channel for communication. If you use the internet to send confidential information, such as a credit card number or a password, then it is possible that your information may be intercepted. How, then, is internet commerce possible?
The answer lies in a branch of mathematics known as number theory, long regarded as the purest of pure mathematics, since there were (until now) no significant applications. But today number theory provides the basis for secure internet communication.
At Ohio State Marion’s next Science Cafe at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 7, 2013, Brian McEnnis of the Department of Mathematics will look at public key cryptography, which uses the mathematics of number theory to provide encryption for internet transactions. Along the way, attendees will meet some of the mathematicians whose ideas laid the foundation for internet security.
Science Cafes are free and open to the public. They are held at Infinity Restaurant in downtown Marion, 267 West Center Street.
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