There are three types of public key cryptographic systems that are currently considered both secure and efficient. These cryptographic systems, classified according to the mathematical problems upon which they are based, are: the Integer Factorization Systems (of which the RSA algorithm is the most well known example), the Discrete Logarithm Systems (such as the US Government's Digital Signature Algorithm), and the Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem (ECC). 1 1 Certicom White Paper, “ Current Public-Key Cryptographic Systems”, http://www.certicom. ca/ecc/wecc2.htm. Although much has been written about the RSA algorithm and the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), little about the ECC appears in the literature written for information systems security practitioners. This is perhaps because the ECC, since its introduction in 1985, has been a subject of interest to more mathematicians than security professionals.