Books by Patrick Eiler

Cryptography · Post-quantum · Supervision

Vorwarnzeit

(Warning time) How cryptographic algorithms age, break and are replaced

How long does an algorithm warn before it breaks – and who listens? Cryptographic algorithms rarely fail overnight. For thirty years of cryptography this book measures the time between the first reliable warning and the damage – for DES, MD5, SHA-1, RC4, Bleichenbacher's attack, ROCA and Dual_EC_DRBG. Where there was a publicly observable precursor, the gap averaged twenty-one years. Action was mostly taken only once the weakness could no longer be overlooked.

This raises the question for the present. The migration to quantum-safe algorithms is meant to succeed within eleven years, faster than any migration observed so far. The book assesses quantum computers, artificial intelligence, standardisation and roadmaps, examines certification and supervision under DORA, NIS-2, the Cyber Resilience Act and eIDAS, and proposes a simple, verifiable metric.

Among other things, the book covers:

• Five patterns of breakage: computing power, cryptanalysis, protocol design, implementation and side channels, governance
• What is in use today: the symmetric and asymmetric stock, current protocols, hardware-based mechanisms
• Today's attack surface: quantum computers, artificial intelligence, classical cryptanalysis against young algorithms, implementation and supply chain
• The transition: standardisation, roadmaps and where the migration actually stands
• Who actually checks? Certification schemes, the regulatory framework and the gap between assessment and reality
• The algorithms in detail and a timeline of cryptographic breaks from 1993 to 2026

For anyone in institutions, audit firms or supervision who plans, steers or reviews the migration to quantum-safe cryptography.

Edition

Paperback and Kindle e-book

Length

438 pages

Language

German

Published

1 November 2026

ISBN (paperback)

979-8166868442

Status

data and legal status as of 29 October 2026

Paperback on AmazonRelated pages: Cyber Resilience Act · CRA: conformity · CRA: support and updates

Blockchain · Stablecoins · Smart contracts

Finalität, Orakel, Schlüssel

(Finality, oracles, keys) Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ether, stablecoins and smart contracts as a technical and economic system

What does the technology guarantee – and where does trust in third parties begin? Blockchains promise assurances without trust in third parties. This book tests how far that promise carries. It breaks Bitcoin, Ethereum, rollups, stablecoins, tokenised assets and the new link with artificial intelligence down into six layers and asks, for each, which assumption it rests on: a cryptographic one, an economic one – or trust in operators, issuers and key holders.

The finding: the hard guarantee ends below the application. In 2026 the damage arises mostly at keys and processes, not in the code. And the sector's metrics often measure something other than their names claim.

Among other things, the book covers:

• Bitcoin and Ethereum: security as an ongoing expense or as posted capital, the quantum risk and the conversion of mining capacity into AI data centres
• Smart contracts: token standards, proxies, oracles and why the damage arises at the keys
• Rollups: sequencers, data availability, bridges and MEV
• Stablecoins: four peg mechanisms, issuer economics and the chronicle of peg breaks
• DeFi, restaking and the tokenisation of real-world assets
• Agentic payments, AI in chain analysis and AI-generated contract code
• Six metrics that do not measure what their name claims, and seven tests on which the findings could fail

For supervisors, banks, auditors and anyone who wants to assess crypto-assets soberly. Based on primary sources, with the reliability of every statement disclosed.

Edition

Paperback and Kindle e-book

Length

282 pages

Language

German

Published

28 October 2026

ISBN (paperback)

979-8166009227

Status

data and legal status as of 27 October 2026

Paperback on AmazonRelated pages: Crypto-asset reporting · AMLR 2027 · Digital euro

Computer chips · AI infrastructure

Vom x86-PC zur KI-Infrastruktur

(From the x86 PC to AI infrastructure) The development of computer chips since 1990 – Intel, AMD, NVIDIA and Apple

How did the processor in the PC become the infrastructure of artificial intelligence? Around 1990 a personal computer could be described with a single number: 286, 386 or 486. Since June 2026 the most demanding requests to Apple's AI services have also run, in preview, on NVIDIA graphics processors and Intel processors. This book explains how that came about.

It follows Intel, AMD, NVIDIA and Apple over more than three decades and explains why memory, networking, software and manufacturing now decide performance. The thesis: the centre of gravity moved from the compatible CPU to the integrated system – the CPU remained as host.

Among other things, the book covers:

• The x86 PC from the 286 to the Athlon, the gigahertz race, AMD64 and the end of clock scaling
• Multi-core processors, the data centre, mobile SoCs and Apple's path to its own chips
• CUDA, deep learning and the AI accelerators from Pascal to Rubin
• Chiplets, Apple silicon on the Mac, transformers and language models
• Memory and HBM, networking from chip to rack, software from CUDA to Metal
• Manufacturing, packaging, supply chains and compute as a regulatory quantity
• The market structure in October 2026, with a chapter each on NVIDIA, Intel, AMD and Apple

For anyone who wants to understand what AI infrastructure rests on, technically and economically. Based on company reports, legal acts and specialist publications, with 151 figures and 25 decision boxes.

Edition

Paperback and Kindle e-book

Length

758 pages

Language

German

Published

28 October 2026

ISBN (paperback)

979-8166130297

Status

editorial status as of 11 October 2026

Paperback on AmazonRelated pages: GPAI · Vendor AI · AI compliance

How do the books relate to the topics of this website?

All three connect to the topic pages. “Vorwarnzeit” concerns information security: the Cyber Resilience Act requires state-of-the-art encryption throughout the support period, and DORA and NIS-2 require rules for the use of cryptography. What this means for institutions as manufacturers of their own apps is set out on the pages on the Cyber Resilience Act.

“Finalität, Orakel, Schlüssel” starts from a reporting question: whether Austrian regulatory reporting captures transfers of crypto-assets in a way that supports supervision, anti-money laundering and statistics. What banks and crypto-asset service providers report today is set out on the page crypto-asset reporting.

“Vom x86-PC zur KI-Infrastruktur” provides the technical foundation for AI compliance: anyone who inventories, procures or supervises AI systems should know what they run on and which providers they depend on. The pages on GPAI and vendor AI show where these questions arise under the EU AI Act and in supplier management.