# All Questions

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### Is scrypt a hashing function, encryption, or PBKDF?

I have installed a python implementation of scrypt and noticed it has several functions, both an encrypt and hash function. Yet Wikipedia lists it as being used for PBKDF instead of PBKDF2. Is scrypt ...
349 views

### Random session key + predictable IV

I'm using Blowfish in a toy Diffie-Hellman communications scheme. Random session keys are generated for each connection. In this case I can simply feed a null array to the IV right? The same ...
7k views

### PBKDF2WithHmacSHA512 Vs. PBKDF2WithHmacSHA1

I'm working on a Java authentication subsystem that specs the storage of passwords in the DB as PBKDF2-generated hashes, and I'm now trying to decide whether I ...
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### Reuse of a DH / ECDH public key

I was wondering whether it is safe to use the same DH or ECDH key pair in more than one key agreement, particularly if these public keys are in a public registry. These public keys could be used by ...
2k views

### DES Key Schedule Algorithm

Reading through the DES Specification it says that the keys are permuted with PC-1 initially and then shifted left both $C$ and $D$. However, before it gets ...
539 views

### Is OTP useful in modern electronic communication?

I have seen from time to time questions about various OTP schemes and "OTP" (i.e. stream cipher) schemes. The most common OTP troubles appear to be: How to extend size of previously generated key or ...
458 views

### Key space: Dense and sparse

I'm taking a cryptography class and I come across these terms dense and sparse key space allt he time. What do they mean? As far as I can I understand, dense key space means that there are more ...
470 views

### How is multiplication inverted in IDEA's decryption round?

As we can see in the picture we have a multiplication in this algorithm, we know that two 16 bit inputs should have a 32 bit output, but here we just use 16 bits of the 32 bit output. For decryption ...
438 views

### Are any Certificate Authorities using 4096 bit keys for their intermediate and root certificates? [closed]

Are any Certificate Authorities using 4096 bit keys for their intermediate and root certificates? I know you can, of course, use a 4096 bit key for your server certificate, but I usually see 2048 bit ...
14k views

### How are the AES S-Boxes calculated?

I'm trying to understand how the AES S-Boxes are calculated. I understand how the multiplicative inverse is calculated over GF(2^8), but I'm confused by the description of the affine transformation. I ...
5k views

### How long does it take a quantum computer to brute force AES?

I understand that using Grover's algorithm it only requires $2^{64}$ lookups for a 128 bit AES encryption, leading people to say we need to increase to 256 bit keys. But how long would it actually ...
4k views

### How much is slower GCM AES-128 than one of the stream chipher eSTREAM?

Evaluate the speed of the algorithm GCM AES-128 and compare it whith speed of one of the stream chipher in eSTREAM. Can someone give such an assessment?
480 views

### Why to try get key out of white box crypto? How can one protect WBC itself?

Help me understand the following. With WBC the question is mainly being stated as can one try to break WBC to identify the key. My question is: Why would one ever want to do that anyways? If one can ...
734 views

### Why does NaCl's crypto_secretbox for xsalsa20-poly1305 require the first 32 bytes to be zero?

The NaCl web site says this is a requirement of the API, but its seems more than just an API issue. It means the first 32 bytes of the first salsa20 block are effectively ignored. I didn't see ...
739 views

### What is the definition of “security beyond the birthday paradox”?

I'm reading a paper about MACs and I would like to be sure about the meaning of a security beyond the birthday paradox. Is there a definition?
508 views

### What (precisely) is a block cipher?

If I follow the wikipedia or crypto.stackexchange definition, any simple XOR encryption where the key is as long as the plain text should qualify as a secure block cipher. Now I thought what would ...
720 views

### Encoding information in packet lengths to actively sidestep encryption

If you've only got an encrypted data channel can you actively sidestep the encryption and communicate with an outside party who can see the data but cannot decrypt it? Yes - if you can find some ...
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1k views

### Hash functions throughput performance [closed]

Without taking into account security, which hash function is the fastest one among the following: MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2 (for various internal size), Keccak, and other… ?
213 views

### Blind Signatures

The verification algorithm given in blind signature. Should it work for both Original message and the signature on it Blinded message and the signature on it. If yes, then how can we verify if ...
667 views

### Encrypting files with known headers

If I encrypt a file of a known format that has a lengthy header (e.g. an XML Excel file), does that render the encrypted file susceptible to a "known plain text" attack? In other words, if the first ...
230 views

### Use of Different keys with PCBC

Currently I am having a doubt, while making a "DES PCBC" encryption on an image I observe a bit of the silhouette of the image (Probably because of the XOR between plaintext blocks and ciphertext ones ...
953 views

### How to prove the security of the PRNG?

Are there any realties tests or criterias that prove the security of the PRNG? What kind of tests or criteria?
207 views

### Infinite depth BLAKE2b tree hashing

In the BLAKE2 paper, the authors define Maximal depth (1 byte): an integer in [1, 255] (set to 255 if unlimited, and to 1 only in sequential mode) Node depth (1 byte): an integer in [0, 255] ...
191 views

### The Goldreich-Goldwasser-Micali Construction with bad PRGS

I understand that if we have a secure PRG then the Goldreich-Goldwasser-Micali construction gives us a secure PRF. However, what I've not been able to find much material on is how will the GGM ...
239 views

### NP complete problems related to permutations of binary vectors or block ciphers

Recently, T.Gowers wrote a blog entry called "How not to prove that P is not equal to NP" about the Razborov/Rudich Natural Proofs paper. He has a construction where he talks about compositions of 3-...
12k views

### Decrypting the password from SHA-512 hash value

I am currently studying AES algorithm and writing a Code using Python. I am trying to add 'Salt' into the user input password, Here is what I am doing, ...
156 views

### How many messages needs to be send to server to get AES key in Cache-timing Attack

I'm trying to evaluate the correlation between key length and the number of messages that needs to be send to server during Cache timing Attack. I read both D. Bernstein, “Cache-timing attacks on AES,...
157 views

### post-quantum threshold secret sharing

I am looking for a references for post-quantum threshold secret sharing schemes. I am especially interested in knowing whether any one based on one-way compressor functions or cryptographic hashes ...
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### what are the uses of tweaks in block ciphers?

Few block cipher modes has additional parameter , tweaks , especially the ones that are format preserving . Now the comments section of this blog entry says such tweaks can be used for BIN numbers, ...
536 views

### AES file encryption with PBKDF2. Safe parameters?

I'm developing an application that will use public key authentication to contact some webservice. So the user has his keypair on his computer, and I want that file to be encrypted using AES with a key ...
291 views

### What is the intuition behind AES or SPN?

I'm new to cryptography and have just encountered AES and SPN. I would like to know how the S-box, permutation step and the MixColumn step help improve security. It seems to me (perhaps mistakenly) ...
273 views

### Encryption algorithms and the “One-Time pad” [duplicate]

I am not well versed in the field but I believe I know the basics. All encryption algorithms that I know of utilize direct data manipulation to encrypt a message (string of bits) such as shifting, ...
440 views

### How does redundancy in a file effects performance and security of encryption?

Does redundancy in a file or data effect performance and security of encryption? (for example for AES, if not for general case) Is it easier to encrypt something that has high redundancy or something ...
489 views

### Definition of cryptographic advantage vs. probability of success

In game-based security definitions, like for example the one defining IND-CPA security, a given cryptosystem is said to be secure if any probabilistic polynomial time adversary has only a negligible ...
968 views

### How do TLS 1.1 and 1.2 generate IVs (initialization vectors) for each record?

According to RFC 4346 Explicit IVs [CBCATT] describes a chosen plaintext attack on TLS that depends on knowing the IV for a record. Previous versions of TLS [TLS1.0] used the CBC ...