# All Questions

552 views

### How is BCrypt secure when it uses a static dataset for blowfish hashing?

I'm planning on using this Javascript BCrypt implementation, but as you can see in the code, it uses a 4KB precalculated dataset for the P and ...
100 views

### Is the following scheme secure for different cipher

Let's say I have two keys K1 and K2. two messages M1 and M2 of the same length. Cipher (E,D) 3 ciphertexts: C11, C12,C22 where Cij = E(Ki, Mj) In situation ...
2k views

### Why do all hash functions use big-endian data?

I've looked at several hash function specifications, and they all emphasize the need for big-endian byte ordering. Is there a reason for this that has to do with security, or is it simply convention?
913 views

### How does a “Tiger Tree Hash” handle data whose size isn't a power of two?

Constructing a hash tree is simple enough if the data fits into a number of blocks that is a power of two. ...
1k views

### If you had to implement the BGN Cryptosystem, how would you do it?

If you had to implement BGN, how would you do it? I'm looking for an implementation of the public-key cryptosystem due to Boneh, Goh, and Nissim (aka BGN), or at least some suggestions on ...
5k views

### Predicting values from a Linear Congruential Generator

I have learnt that Linear Congruential Random Number Generators are not cryptographically secure - my understanding is that given an LCG of the form: ...
425 views

### How to generate successive stream-cipher keys?

I've identified a weakness in a distributed simulation system I'm looking at, and I'm looking for some advice on how to fix it. Clients initially negotiate an authentication token with a login server ...
880 views

### CBC - a canonical mode, even though there are streaming modes

Why is CBC considered the canonical mode when there are streaming modes available such as CFB and OFB? One thing that I can think of is that in CBC you can easliy do range-based decryption. All you ...
1k views

### Division in paillier cryptosystem

Is division possible in the Paillier Cryptosystem? i.e. given a the cipher-text $C$ of an integer $M$ the plain-text divisor $D$, and only the public key, can one compute the cipher-text of $M/D$ ?
995 views

### Permutations of pseudorandom data

Assuming a bit string is deemed cryptographically secure, e.g. PRNG using AES in counter mode, can we equally assume any permutation of said bit string is also cryptographically secure? In a more ...
1k views

### RSA-OAEP Input Parameters

When creating padding for RSA using OAEP, a message is prepared as follows: Hash(Input Parameter) || Zeros || 1 || Message My question is, what should the Input ...
865 views

### are CFB and OFB really meant for streaming?

CFB, OFB and other modes are meant for streaming and don't require padding. Are there still limitations such as the text needs to be greater than key length?
1k views

### Complexity of arithmetic in a finite field?

I am wondering what the complexities are of adding/subtracting and muliplying/dividing numbers in a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$. I need it to understand an article I am reading. Thank you
646 views

### Are there any authoritative definitions of “key stretching”?

This is mostly a terminology question, but I suppose that it is best asked and answered here. After browsing the Internet I have come across a fair number of completely different definitions of the ...
8k views

### Why do we use encrypt-decrypt-encrypt (EDE) in 3DES, rather than encrypting three times?

I'm wondering why we use encrypt-decrypt-encrypt (EDE) sequence in 3DES (also known as DES-EDE, TDES or TDEA) with three keys instead of three times encryption (EEE) with three different keys?
16k views

### Difference between “Signature Algorithm” and “Signature Hash Algorithm” in X.509

What's the difference between the "Signature Algorithm" and the "Signature Hash Algorithm" found in an X.509 certificate? Why does it need a "Signature Hash Algorithm"? Edit: I'm creating the ...
397 views

### Do parts of a hash carry the properties of the entire hash?

When I need to generate unique id's based on some information hashing is typical choice. However, sometimes that id needs to be of a particular size. I've seen a lot of schemes (HMAC-MD5-96 in SSH, ...
228 views

### Shannon entropy calculation: is $H(A|R·A) = H(A)$?

Suppose I generate a random $m×m$ matrix $R$, where each of its elements belongs to $\mathbb Z_n$. I ensure that $R$ is invertible in $\mathbb Z_n^{m×m}$. Now I take a non-random $m×m$ ...
799 views

### Does a public key absolutely need to be used to initiate an encrypted session?

I am a software developer working on an application with the .NET platform. This application needs to provide a secure connection and encrypt all data between the client and the server. It is a ...
170 views

### Does security under ROM imply exactly what?

I'm not sure I understand really the implications of proofs of security in the random oracle model. Does a proof of security in ROM translate to a reduction of security of the crypto-system to the ...
203 views

### RSA-OAEP versus RSA with Fujisaki-Okamoto construction

I was wondering why the Fujisaki-Okamoto construction (or one of its variants) is not (at least commonly) used with RSA to achieve CCA2 security? Does anyone know of any speed comparisons between RSA ...
400 views

### Security analysis of a matrix multiplication protocol

Suppose Alice would like to obtain the product of two mXm matrices i.e. A and B. Alice has A, whereas Bob has B. Since Alice does not want to reveal A to Bob, she chooses a mXm random invertable ...
687 views

### Computational feasible to reverse MD5SUM?

This might be out of ignorance, I apologize, but how complex of a problem might it be to generate a file of size $N$ whose MD5SUM is $X$? For example, ...
914 views

### HASH Algorithm for 8 bits MCU

I need to implement the HASH algorithm (MD5 & SHA-1) on an 8 bit MCU. I hear it can only be implemented on 32bit and sometimes 16bits MCU. Is that possible? I will appreciate link where possible. ...
502 views

### X.509 CSR: Why does CA remove signature?

I just read this article on Wikipedia: Certificate Signing Request I'm not a PKI or Crypto expert. As I understand, a CSR (certification request) is always signed by the PKCS#10-Request creator. ...
289 views

### How does the energy consumption of the SHA-3 finalists compare?

I am curious, is there any paper where SHA-3 competitors are compared in terms of energy efficiency?
288 views

### Seeking special-use fingerprinting/hashing algorithm

For a project I wonder if there exists some kind of fixed-size checksumming/fingerprinting function in which based on this fingerprint given data block 1, it is easy to generate more data blocks that ...
281 views

### Is the SILC protocol still used? [closed]

I'm looking into implementing a private SILC server for friends (and possibly their friends). And after visiting the Wikipedia entry for SILC protocol, it seems all the official pages linked at the ...
3k views

### Is it safer to generate your own Diffie-Hellman primes or to use those defined in RFC 3526?

I was wondering if the prime numbers defined for use with Diffie-Hellman in RFC 3526 are more trustworthy than generating one's own, especially considering the recent Arjen Lenstra paper (Ron was ...
122 views

### RSA security assumptions - does breaking the DLP also break RSA? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Would the ability to efficiently find Discrete Logs have any impact on the security of RSA? I'm wondering if breaking the DLP, that is the basis for ElGamal and DSA, ...
83 views

### How to take SHA-1 safely for my particular case?

Let me ask about my toy passwords generator program X5 which I want to improve. X5 uses a secret key and a public key to generate a password.Where any public key is supposed to be known to hackers in ...
2k views

### What is “Implicit Authentication”?

What is “Implicit Authentication” in the context of authentication methods? I searched the Web but could not find any article that describes this. If anyone can describe it, that would be a great ...
501 views

### What is the computational cost of a public key certificate signature verification?

What is the computational cost of a certificate signature verification in terms of exponentiation, multiplication and other computation operations?
698 views

### What is the flaw in this model for homomorphic encryption?

Imagine a Field Isomorphism $g : \mathbb F1 \to \mathbb F2$ given by some $g(x)$ Assume a client is planning to outsource his computations to server, translates every possible $x$ as $g(x)$ and ...
432 views

### Security analysis of a “one-time pad” type hill cipher

Suppose the Hill cipher were modified to something like a one-time pad cipher, where Alice wants to send a message to Bob, and she chooses a key matrix randomly everytime a new message is sent (and ...
23k views

### How big an RSA key is considered secure today?

I think 1024 bit RSA keys were considered secure ~5 years ago, but I assume that's not true anymore. Can 2048 or 4096 keys still be relied upon, or have we gained too much computing power in the ...
6k views

### What should be the size of a Diffie-Hellman private key?

I'm implementing the SRP-6 protocol, which relies on discrete logarithms for it's security (essentially Diffie-Hellman). The RFC documents state: The private values $a$ and $b$ SHOULD be at least ...
188 views

### In a lattice, how can one define a good basis and a bad basis?

When it comes to lattice based cryptographic systems, all the literature talks about, good bases and bad bases. How does one define what a good basis is and what a bad basis is?
551 views

### Alternatives to FHE for secure function evaluation

As a followup to a previous question I asked which was more related to Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), what other cryptographic methods are available for computing a private function on public ...
449 views

### Cost of attacking Mobile OTP with a fake server

You want to obtain a 74-bit secret $K$. There is an oracle that will provide you with the following value for several values of $T$: ...
8k views

### How are primes generated for RSA?

As I understand it, the RSA algorithm is based on finding two large primes (p and q) and multiplying them. The security aspect is based on the fact that it's difficult to factor it back into p and q. ...
4k views

### How large should a Diffie-Hellman p be?

In a Diffie-Hellman exchange, the parties need to agree on a prime p and a base g in order to continue. Assuming some ...
269 views

### Signing a GCM MAC

If I encrypt a message with AES-GCM, is it safe to use the MAC as the hash in a DSA/RSA signature? That is, if someone knows the AES key and nonce, will they be able to generate a different message ...
506 views

### Can PBKDF2 be used to create an XOR cipher key to encrypt random plaintext?

I want to encrypt a truly random plaintext (a key file) based on a user password. I'll use PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 to generate an encryption key from the password, but I'm wondering if I even need to ...
399 views

### Is the new preprint “An Algorithm For Factoring Integers” by Yingpu Deng and Yanbin Pan worth reading?

I just discovered on the eprint server of the IACR the paper mentioned in the title. Scanning quickly over the paper I didn't find anything spectacular, so I doubt that their new(?) approach will be ...
240 views

### Is the $\ell$-Diffie Hellman Inversion easy when g is known?

From here they define the $\ell$-Diffie Hellman inversion problem as: Given $g^{a},g^{a^2}\ldots,g^{a^{\ell}} \in G$, compute $g^{a^{-1}}$ Would this problem become easy if the generator $g$ is ...
616 views

### Offline anonymous electronic money systems and their cryptographical base

What anonymous offline electronic money systems exist and what are they based on? I know only one currently - eCash, based on RSA blind signatures.
1k views

### Finding CRC collisions for specific divisor

My current textbook (Information Security: Principles and Practice by Mark Stamp) discusses how to determine the CRC of data via long-division, using XOR instead of subtraction to determine the ...
### How to construct a zero-knowledge proof of a number of the form $n=p^a q^b$
Let $n = p^a$$q^b$ where p and q are distinct primes and a and b are positive integers. How to construct a zero knowledge proof that n is of such form? This is actually a homework problem with a ...