Posed as an open problem in 1984, but efficiently instantiated only in 2001, identity-based encryption hasn't left the forefront of cryptographic research since. Praised by fans as the economical alternative to public-key infrastructures, booed by critics for its inherent key escrow, identity-based cryptography is also the topic of numerous debates in the cryptographic community. Identity-Based Cryptography looks beyond the controversy and intends to give an overview of the current state-of-the-art in identity-based cryptography. Since research on the topic is still actively continuing, this is necessarily a snapshot of a field in motion, rather than the final word about it.

1984年，基于身份的加密作为一个公开问题被提出，但直到2001年才被有效地实例化，此后，基于身份的加密一直没有离开密码学研究的前沿。粉丝们称赞基于身份的加密技术是公钥基础设施的经济替代方案，批评者对其固有的密钥托管嗤之以鼻，基于身份的加密技术也是密码学界众多争论的话题。基于身份的密码学超越了争议，并打算概述当前基于身份的密码学的最新进展。由于对这一主题的研究仍在积极进行中，这必然是一个运动领域的快照，而不是关于它的最终结论。