# All Questions

289 views

### Does MAC provide origin authentication? Why not just use symmetric encryption?

Let's assume Bob and Alice has a secret key for MAC. If MAC is constructed by the key and the message, that means that both Alice and Bob can construct the exact same message and MAC. So, Bob can ...
305 views

### Complexity class of an idealised version of Bitcoin's proof-of-work (hashcash)? [closed]

To formulate this question precisely, I will define an idealized hypothetical "perfect" hash function $H(n)$ which has nice scalability properties, and will formulate a problem PERFECT HASHCASH in ...
163 views

### How can one calculate the estimated RSA key life based on Moore's law?

How can someone estimate the number of years needed to factor an RSA key based on the advancement of technology if followed Moore's law?
73 views

### Safety when disclosing hashes of secrets used to calculate other secrets

In my application, I am generating a big random number and publishing a SHA256 hash of it. After the hash it published (but not the secret), anyone can submit any number, and the system will calculate ...
285 views

### ID-based key exchange protocol with PFS

The traditional authenticated DH protocol with PFS against active adversaries, ensures that the compromise of both party's long-term private keys after the session is completed will not help the ...
2k views

### Bleichenbacher 1998 “Million message attack” on RSA

I have been reading Bleichenbacher's 1998 paper on a forged message attack on RSA. The paper assumes access to an Oracle that takes a ciphertext $c$ and will check the decrypted text for valid PKCS #1 ...
724 views

### Serpent block cipher : S0 to S7 functions unclear

I am presently implementing the serpent block cipher in C++ following the specifications. It's important to mention that I'm implementing the cipher in bitslice mode. You'll need the The full ...
223 views

657 views

### What is the difference between a 'cipher' and a 'mode of operation'?

What is the difference between the term cipher (a name like RIJNDAEL) and mode of operation (like ECB)? Aren't these both terms for the encryption/decryption technique?
840 views

### Why does only length prepending improve the security of CBC-MAC

I know that length prepending improves security of CBC-MAC. However, wouldn't inserting the length elsewhere (middle, end or any other part of message) be equally good? After all, even the length is ...
111 views

### Verifying a Signature

Alice publishes $(n,e)$ where $n$ is exponential modulus and $e$ is the public key. We have $n=80$ digit number and $e=3$. Bob, in correspondence with Alice, asked Alice to prove she is really Alice, ...
894 views

### Increasing number of rounds in AES

AES-128 requires 10 rounds ( AES Description, Wikipedia ) However Bruce Schneier has recommended AES-128 use 16 rounds ( Schneier on Security: New Attack on AES ) Could that be implemented as two ...
5k views

### Simple digital signature example with number

I've been looking for a simple which signs a number with some randomly generated key and then verified(decrypts the original number) with the public key, which is generated by the private. All the ...
337 views

### Encryption of small messages

Some time ago, I asked how to encrypt small messages like e.g., four decimal digit numbers (banking PINs). I've got my answer, but also a warning like it makes no sense as it's easy to guess: Even ...
106 views

### What is the security risk if an encryption key is not random?

Ok, I just jumped into crypto and now struggling with some points… I read lots of resources, most of them mention how important the strength of the encryption key is. However, I could not find much ...
202 views

### Partial encryption of a file?

I want to partially encrypt a large block of data using AES. Meaning: given plaintext[0:1100], I would like to encrypt ...
344 views

### Does encrypting a hash of the message yield a secure MAC?

Is $mac = enc(hash(x))$ a secure MAC for hash = SHA256 and enc AES in CBC mode or ECB mode. Normally AES-CBC is malleable. But in this case I use a hash function for the one-way property. For ...
67 views

### Protocol/algorithms based on a variable-length input PRF

Are the proofs based on a PRF assumption still valid when using a variable-length input PRF ? The answer might be obvious, but I have a doubt.
501 views

### Prime number theorem - RSA

I am having trouble understanding the prime number theorem. As part of some revision for an exam, I am trying to answer the following questions (but seeing as I don't understand the concept of the ...
2k views

### How exactly was the finalist chosen in the NIST AES competition?

I was just reading the Stick Figure Guide to AES and came across an interesting table explaining how the winner was chosen: Unfortunately the NIST site is down so I can't gain further information ...
124 views

### Cryptanalysis not based on method used to encrypt? [closed]

When doing cryptanalysis on RSA or something number theory based, there are various attacks that all seem to involve number theory (Wikipedia: RSA_(algorithm) ~ Attacks_against_plain_RSA). Similarly, ...
693 views

### Since it gives negative power, how is rcon(0) calculated in AES?

I'm trying to calculate Rijndael key schedule "Rcon" values manually. I know how to calculate each value with the equation ...
515 views

### Initialization Vector Properties

This is a multi-layer problem, and I want to take you through the whole thing rather than just asking about IVs. Bear with me. Also, all code below is in Common Lisp because that's what I'm using, but ...
3k views

### Two different approaches for Key Expansion using the AES-256 algorithm?

I am implementing AES 256-bit Algorithm from the Theory given in the book, "Cryptography and Network Security" by Behrouz A. Forouzan. The Algorithm described in the Book in relation to ...
311 views

117 views

### Is there way to combine secrets first and later split them?

Shamir's Secret Sharing allows a secret to be split into multiple shares so that it can be reconstructed later. Is there a way to do the reverse? Can we combine a few secrets first and later split ...
589 views

### Schnorr Identification Scheme under active adversary

According to the paper “GQ and Schnorr Identification Schemes: Proofs of Security against Impersonation under Active and Concurrent Attacks” by Mihir Bellare and Adriana Palacio, the Schnorr ...
330 views

### Solid summary of what encryption remains strong after recent events [closed]

Following the recent government hacking (and subsequent news and fallout), I'm wondering what crypto-systems remain strong (and why) and what crypto-systems were exploited too heavily to be reliable. ...
263 views

### Hill Cipher - Unknown plaintext attack, known key [duplicate]

I was wondering if I have the key and the encrypted Hill Cipher message(s). I can definitely figure out the charset involved. But the order is missing. Assuming that I use 37 modulo or higher. How ...
538 views

### Blockwise Montgomery multiplication

I have to implement a 256*256 bit Montgomery multiplier for pairing computations. The straightforward approach is to use a bit-serial version, but I would like to utilize the built-in 64*64 bits ...
512 views

### Encoding numbers that can be decoded mentally?

I have a lot of objects, all of which need a particular number tagged on them so I can quickly tell the customer accordingly. But the problem is that the customer should not know what these numbers ...
194 views

### PGP encryption options

I recently began using PGP desktop and found several options for my encryption capabilities. Which of these (AES, Cast, Triple DES, TwoFish, IDEA) is the most recent, firstly, secondly may the NSA not ...
191 views

### Where does the meaning of reduction to a hard problem lie?

Given you a protocol, if we can reduce breaking the protocol to a hard problem, such as DLP or CDH, then we can say that this protocol is secure. Theoretically speaking, reduction is a good method ...
551 views

### Where could I submit my algorithm?

I have come up with an encryption algorithm and I am looking for a place to possibly publish it. Any ideas?
219 views

### Is AES a linear hash?

So, having read a variety of documentations on AES encryption, I came to the unknowledgeable conclusion that the key schedule applied to the array of chunks, and not just the 14 cycles on a single ...