In the mid-1980s, Miller and Koblitz introduced elliptic curves into cryptography, and Lenstra showed how to use elliptic curves to factor integers. Since that time, elliptic curves have played an increasingly important role in many cryptographic situations. One of their advantages is that they seem to offer a level of security comparable to classical cryptosystems that use much larger key sizes. For example, it is estimated in [Blake et al.] that certain conventional systems with a 4096-bit key size can be replaced by 313-bit elliptic curve systems. Using much shorter numbers can represent a considerable savings in hardware implementations.

In this chapter, we present some of the highlights. For more details on elliptic curves and their cryptologic uses, see [Blake et al.], [Hankerson et al.], or [Washington]. For a list of elliptic curves recommended by NIST for cryptographic uses, see [FIPS 186-2].