# All Questions

106 views

### Build set with PKI from reliable broadcast / random beacon

I am trying to build a protocol (or find an existing one) for creating a set $S_2$ with PKI from a set of parties $S_1$ that initially does not know anything about the other parties. We assume ...
416 views

### Relation between key size and PRNG state size

Some (supposedly) cryptographically secure PRNGs have an internal state of only 160 bits or less. When the algorithm is otherwise properly designed, that seems like enough to generate a 128 bit key ...
460 views

### Tunnels used in md5

I'm reading the paper "Message Freedom in MD4 and MD5 Collisions: Application to APOP" about finding collisions for the MD5 hash algorithm involving the concept of tunnels as described in "Tunnels in ...
1k views

### Is there something wrong with my decryption using key=9, mod 26?

I am new to cryptography and have started looking at some basic encryption. I have the following question to answer: Decrypt the the following encrypted quotation using ...
447 views

### Where does the $\varphi(n)$ part of RSA come from?

$e d \equiv 1 \pmod{\varphi(n)}$ Where does the $\varphi(n)$ part come from? How did the inventors of RSA arrive at $\varphi(n)$?
2k views

### Why does ROT13 provide no cryptographic security?

I can understand that ROT13 is not secure for obvious reasons, but I'm looking for the theoretical answer. Wikipedia says "The algorithm provides no cryptographic security.." What does it mean to ...
877 views

### Is there any area where AES-CBC cannot be used ? If so, why?

I would like to know the domains or specific applications where using AES-CBC is not advised due to any drawbacks like sequential encryption of AES-CBC ?
570 views

### Why $n=pq$ with $p=2p'+1$ and $q=2q'+1$ instead of just $n=p'q'$ for RSA crypto?

For RSA cryptography, we know that the modulo $n$ is a product of two big prime numbers(say $p$ and $q$). However, in some documents I see an extension of $p=2p'+1$ and $q=2q'+1$ with $q'$ and $p'$ ...
707 views

### Why isn't the alternating step generator used more often?

According to the Wikipedia entry for the Alternating Step pseudorandom number generator, there is no public cryptanalysis for this device since it was invented back in 1987 by C.G. Gunther. I have ...
601 views

### Why does “2xAES-256” provide “99.99%” security strength whereas “1xAES-128” provides “40%”? [closed]

I recently was "directed" to FlipsCloud, a company selling security solutions (as far as I can tell). In particular I've investigated their page and found a page on their "encryption features". This ...
830 views

### A block cipher with independent keys for each round

I want to modify a standard block cipher in the following way. I replace each round key by a key picked at random. Is this block cipher as secure as the original one ? Thank you. EDIT Some missing ...
1k views

### What is an efficient random number generation algorithm

I have been looking for the algorithm that generates random number and this algorithm has to be more secure. I am going to use this algorithm to generate the salt that will be used in PBKDF2. ...
557 views

### Is there a way to generate sound one-time pads out of public information?

Is there a way to 'mangle' a public data-source (for example, the current date in YYYYMMDD or the top New York Times headline) to form a one-time pad that will sufficiently hide the pad's source? ...
1k views

### Increased CRC collision probability when adding bits to input message

The Scenario I have a message string I need to transport over a wireless network that may be unreliable. This message string is about 100 bits long, and is packaged with an 8-bit CRC. When the ...
638 views

### RSA primes vs. largest known primes

In the context of a new largest (mersenne) prime number being found this week - The largest known prime number is now 2^57,885,161 − 1, and it took 5 years to find ...
340 views

### Can we say that if $P=NP$ there is no CPA secure public key encryption?

I've learned that public key encryption is based on the problem of Discrete Log (as regard to group theory) which believed to be hard. But, can we say that it doesn't matter on which problem our ...
577 views

### Block cipher fixed points (plaintext equal to ciphertext)

A block cipher is a bijective map from the set of possible plaintexts to the set of ciphertexts, which are the same size and might as well be considered the same thing: $\theta: S\to S$. In this there ...
415 views

### Is it safe to store initial counter value for AES-CTR alongside with ciphertext?

The initial counter value can actually be thought of as a sort of IV, which I assume is safe to transmit with the ciphertext, but I really want to be sure that this is indeed safe.
137 views

### Shamir Secret Sharing: Why cannot we recover polynomial's root if we have $t-1$ shares?

Imagine we have $t-1$ shares in $(t,n)$ shamir secret sharing. So at least $t$ shares are needed. Question: Why cannot we use $t-1$ shares to find a root of the polynomial and then recover the ...
11k views

### Why we can't implement AES 512 key size?

Out of curiosity why we can't implement AES 512 key size? Please explain somehow i can understand! I'm not an expert.
658 views

### Is ECB mode secure if plaintexts guaranteed to be unique?

I've got a scenario where I need to encrypt many small (16-byte) plaintexts. I want to use AES-128 in ECB mode. Notably, each plaintext is guaranteed to be unique, though each may differ by only a few ...
393 views

### Is there a secret sharing scheme which allows delegation/re-sharing without reconstructing the original secret?

EDIT: Ilmari Karonen's answer below well not exactly what I want, gives a very good idea of what I am trying to accomplish. Are there any known secret sharing schemes that allow new parties to be ...
606 views

### Why does an algorithm need a keyspace?

Why does an algorithm need a keyspace? I thought the person encrypting would define his/her own key.
229 views

### Algorithm for computing square roots in $GF(2^n)$

Short question: is there an algorithm for efficiently computing square roots in $\mathbb{F}_{2^n}$?
3k views

### why DES encryption uses different modes like ECB,OFB?

As without using modes we can also encrypt and decrypt data then what is the need of using modes in DES?
6k views

### Which one of the Block Cipher modes is the best?

I have two questions regarding the Block Cipher Modes: Which one of the modes is considered the best? I know CBC has a problem of IV since the next block of the plain text is XORed with the result ...
657 views

### A patched SHA1 attempt for password verification

This is a classical scenario: For our web based authentication platform we have a username and a password field. User enters these values and presses Log In. The browser gathers the user data, ...
1k views

### NIST temporarily closed — will that have a negative impact on the future of cryptography?

For those who didn't notice yet, in the USA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) has been shut down temporarily because of the poor fiscal situation of the USA. The text at their ...
514 views

### Is this a structural weakness of Feistel networks?

I'm doing a lot of reading about Feistel networks. Something occurred to me a bit ago that I hadn't realized previously, namely that in any Feistel construction there are bits of the plaintext that ...
643 views

### P = NP and current cryptographic systems

I've recently heard some people claiming that if the fact that P = NP is proven, most (all?) the current cryptographic algorithm considered secure like RSA will be unusable in secure systems. My ...
5k views

### Export from US of crypto software with key-size > 56 bits still needs permission?

Elsewhere someone stated that he couldn't publish his crypto software on the Internet, because US Export Regulations require approval, if the key size is greater than 56 bits. I know that several ...
917 views

### What is a smart card?

In many cryptographic protocols, some information is transmitted within smart cards. So, what is a smart card? Is it a physical card? What are they used for in cryptographic protocols?
357 views

### Why do we need Hash by key?

(i'm just trying to find what am I missing...) Assuming John have a clear text message , he can create a regular hash ( like md5 , or sha256) and then encrypt the ...
3k views

629 views

### Combining several symmetric ciphers using XOR

I have seen a talk by Rüdiger Weis, where he says that you can combine two symmetric ciphers using XOR. According to him, that has the effect that its sufficient if only one of the ciphers is secure. ...
897 views

### What does ⊕ mean in cryptography?

Can someone please help me with the question below? Explain why 0 ⊕ x ≠ 1 ⊕ x, whatever the value of the bit x. Hence, explain why flipping a bit in the plaintext produces a predictable ...
309 views

### Should I bother implementing DH + AES, or leave it to a library like Crypto++

I'm making a C++ back end for an application that'll heavily rely on AES-256 and DH. Should I trust third party libraries, or spend (lots of) time to learn about cryptographic implementation and write ...
266 views

### Can anyone give an example where (asymmetric) crypto can go wrong due to selection of wrong groups?

Basically the title says it all. It would be great if someone could tell give an example using provable security. More information about groups can be found at: ...
377 views

### Can cryptography be used to hide routing information from the router?

If Alice wants to talk to Bob and she has to involve a third party system run by Carol to establish, and possibly maintain, communications, then Carol knows that Alice and Bob communicated with each ...
436 views

### Knowing a valid salted hash for an unknown secret, is it possible to compute another valid hash?

$H(s,r)=d$ is a function that hashes the secret string $s$ with a salt $r$, and returns a digest $d$. $r$ may be arbitrarily chosen and each $r$ returns a different $d$. For any $d$, $r$ is known from ...
1k views

### Can SRP be used with Elliptic Curves?

I'm sure it can, because SRP (secure remote protocol) can be implemented everywhere where Diffie-Hellman works, but I need a proof to put this aspect into Wikipedia. Edit: ok, can it be at least ...
3k views

### Difference between symmetric and asymmetric hash function?

The Linux kernel supports symmetric and asymmetric hash functions. E.g. sha1, sha256, ... See tcrypt.c and search for test_hash_speed and ...
4k views

### Hill Cipher known plaintext attack

I know a plaintext - ciphertext couple of length 6 for a hill cipher where its key is a [3x3] matrix. Based on what I've read and learned, to attack and crack keys of [n x n], if we know a plaintext ...
879 views

### What is the actual difference between security through obscurity and true encryption?

In an abstract sense, aren't both the same? Don't their definitions boil down to the following? security through obscurity: trying to make sure some information cannot be obtained without knowing ...
1k views

### What algorithm would give the shortest ciphertext for very short plaintexts?

I have to encrypt some very short messages (approx. 5 characters) and I would like the ciphertext to be as short as possible. I am currently using AES but the initialization vector (IV) is making my ...
439 views

### Is this “layered” XOR cipher secure?

I am aware of the vulnerabilities of simple xor ciphers and recently I came across a block cipher that claims to solve those vulnerabilities. The cipher goes as follows with both the block and key ...