This is version 1.0.0 of the Python Cryptography Toolkit, a collection of cryptographic routines for the Python programming language, written by Andrew Kuchling The PCT is a collection of secure hash functions (such as MD5 and SHA), and various encryption algorithms (IDEA, DES, RSA, ElGamal, etc.). The package is structured to make adding new modules easy. One possible application of the PCT is writing secure administration tools. Another application is in writing daemons and servers. Clients and servers can encrypt the data being exchanged and mutually authenticate themselves; daemons can encrypt private data for added security. Python also provides a pleasant framework for prototyping and experimentation with cryptographic algorithms; thanks to its arbitrary-length integers, public key algorithms based on number theory are easily implemented. See pct.info for more information.