# All Questions

542 views

### Is RSA in a ECB-like-mode safe for bulk encryption?

Let's say I would like to communicate with my friend using asymmetric/public-key encryption, e.g. RSA. (Note: I do realize that in practice this is done through an intermediate symmetric key, but ...
767 views

### How to get the keyword from a keyword cipher?

I was given a ciphertext and now I am trying to break it via looking for the keyword. This is a keyword cipher. So: PlainEnglish: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ If ...
281 views

### How can encryption involve randomness?

If an encryption algorithm is meant to convert a string to another string which can then be decrypted back to the original, how could this process involve any randomness? Surely it has to be ...
915 views

### How to sign a message using RSA?

Assuming I already have a D, P, Q, etc of an RSA key: How do I now sign a message? If it matters – the message is around 100 bits. I don't know much about cryptography, but I can get these numbers ...
5k views

### How to use RCON In Key Expansion of 128 Bit Advanced Encryption Standard

I have a question about RCON here is my illustration... this is the 128 bit key.. ...
497 views

### What is the correct way to generate cryptographically-secure pseudorandom numbers in C?

I am learning about crypto, purely for my own interest. As part of that I am implementing a simple 'one time pad' toolset in C. Naturally I need to generate random numbers to create the pad, and they ...
1k views

### Big-O Notation: Encryption Algorithms

I am currently completing a dissertation concerning the encryption of data through a variety of cryptographic algorithms. I have spent much time reading journals and papers but as yet have been ...
3k views

### How does a chosen plaintext attack on RSA work?

How can one run a chosen plaintext attack on RSA? If I can send some plaintexts and get the ciphertexts, how can I find a relation between them which helps me to crack another ciphertext?
72 views

Suppose you need to authenticate yourself to a program with the password - but the program's source code is public, the program doesn't have access to any private information and all your ...
232 views

### Realize a MAC using a Pseudo-random function?

Given a pseudo-random function and assuming that we do not have any other tools, How can we construct a MAC? I believe this can be done. Would like to know if there is more than one way of doing ...
2k views

### Secure way to transfer data over NFC?

I am currently writing a payment system to accept payment details from an NFC enabled smartphone (BlackBerry 9900) to a Windows client (C#.NET) I am currently having two issues relating to security: ...
215 views

### Is EKE attackable by a brute-force password search?

So I'm trying to properly implement the EKE protocol and I'm using C# with the Windows CNG and ECDH key exchange. I need to use this because it's FIPS certified and all that jazz. So what I'm ...
89 views

### ML/NN Cryptanalysis

I am 14 years and am a NN/ML CS enthusiast (perhaps some of you have seen my NN troubles on SO). I have this question: is it computationally plausible to use NN/ML to do any of the following tasks? (I ...
101 views

### Distinguishing attack on CBC-MAC

I want to ask about distinguishing attack on CBC MAC, as in the paper published by Ketting Jia, Xiaoyun Wang, Zheng Yuan, and Guangwu Xu: Distinguishing Attack and Second-Preimage Attack on the ...
81 views

### Is this algorithm demonstrating “proof of work”

Is this algorithm demonstrating proof of work? This is a algorithm where a "token" is combined with a time stamp and then a cryptographic hash is generated from the combination, next the objective is ...
87 views

### What kind of Quantum cryptography technology(protocols) can be used for Mobile Ad hoc networks(MANETS)?

Typically ad hoc networks do not have a proper infrastructure and the routing is done only through the base stations which are connecting a wired and wireless network. Does quantum cryptography ...
89 views

### Is it possible to split a large AES encrypted string and decrypt the parts one by one?

Due to some platform restrictions our decryption algorithm can only handle up to 1 million bytes. The string we receive is larger, having been generated by AES in cipher block chaining (CBC) mode, ...
129 views

### Publicly exposed hash of private key

Would exposing a cryptographic hash function's digest (e.g. SHA-3) of RSA private key data compromise the key? If so, what are the possible (cryptanalysis-) vectors for attacking the key if an ...
93 views

### password generation: random length or max length

In short: Is it cryptographically stronger to have a known length password of the maximum length allowed, or a random length password somewhere in the range of the longest length possible? Does the ...
278 views

### Is there a cryptographic method to add noise to a plaintext instead of actually encrypting it?

I'm looking for a cryptographic technique that instead of permuting a cleartext, would add noise to the cleartext to obfuscate the true text among a bunch of garbage. For example, a list of 10 ...
183 views

### How should we interpret the cryptanalysis results of SIMON and SPECK?

The NSA recently released SIMON and SPECK light weight block ciphers. Although initial spec release did not have much of cryptanalysis details, two works later appeared providing the cryptanalysis for ...
145 views

### LFSR using words

If I've got an LFSR, let's say a 16-bit Fibonacci LFSR as shown in the corresponding wikipedia article, which generates maximum length sequences, could I use it to create word sequences instead of bit ...
81 views

### How do these figures represent a boolean function?

In the Wikipedia article "Bent functions", there are some figures representing those Bent functions: How do these figures represent a boolean function ?
191 views

### What kind of machine can generate 100-400 digits prime number? RSA

The 64 bit machine's biggest number can be 2^63 (9,223,372,036,854,775,807). So what kind of a monstrous machine can generate 100-400 digits prime number? I probably don't understand something, so ...
164 views

### Decryption possible only within a period of time

Time-locked encryption and time-released encryption seem to be security systems focused on making sure that the decryption of certain message cannot take place before a certain time has passed. ...
129 views

### How should I interpret this note on diffusion of the internal state of a PRNG?

This question is about Tyche, a non-cryptographic PRNG. While the PRNG is not cryptographic the analysis and this question surely is heavily involved with cryptography, so I think it's on-topic here. ...
219 views

### Could completely public passphrase hashes ever be reliably secure?

This is a hypothetical question and I only have a basic understanding of Cryptography. If one were to follow the very best cryptographic practices for storing passphrases, could it ever be possible ...
344 views

### Estimating bits of entropy

Best ways to estimate average bits of entropy in a byte stream. I know there are different statistical tests out there (NIST, Dieharder, etc), which all do different ways of analyzing entropy. What ...
189 views

### Can I dynamically calculate an appropriate number of iterations for PBKDF2 based on the system time, rather than using a fixed value?

Could you choose the number of PBKDF2 iterations based upon the system time? I've heard a few people recommend that the number of iterations for PBKDF2 should be doubled every two years (starting ...
96 views

### Recasting randomly generated numbers to other widths

Suppose I have a list of randomly generated uint_8's, uniform over the whole range of uint_8. I write them into a file as raw ...
83 views

### Is it possible to generate a message using the mac and the key?

Say that you have the Key and the MAC value that was generated from the Key using CBC. Is it possible to generate a message with just the mac and the key? If so, how would you do it?
105 views

### Can stream ciphers (usually) be “run backwards”?

Is it possible to reconstruct the previous output bits of a stream cipher, e.g. RC4, when only the current state is known, or is that computationally hard, or even impossible (due to ambiguous ...
105 views

### Security of cloud computational protocols in UC Framework?

The universal composability allows one to the analyze security of cryptographic protocols . But it does have some gaps when it comes to analyzing few protocols especially two party cases when there is ...
127 views

### Camellia cipher - is it a symmetric or asymmetric cipher?

I read a wiki page about Camellia cipher and know that it is a block cipher that can use 128-bit, 192-bit or 256-bit keys. But I cant find any information about if its a symmetric cipher (uses one key ...
109 views

### Public Keys on Social Media

Is there any problem with using social media (i.e. Facebook) as a directory of public keys? For example, couldn't Alice put a note containing $(g^a \bmod p, g, p)$ on her Facebook page so she could ...
94 views

### Can OTP still be broken if there are several messages being sent with only a slight variation in a password?

If an attacker were able to get a hold of 2 encrypted messages that were both encrypted in a one time pad with a password that were each similar but had one change in the first character, could it ...
110 views

### Can you explain what the AES paper means by “sharing active S-boxes”?

I am reading the "Biclique cryptanalysis of the full AES" paper. What do they mean by "sharing active S-boxes"? How can this concept can be advantageous to make a bicycle? If there is someone who ...
134 views

### Pseudorandom functions

The usual case to distinguish a pseudorandom function from a random function is to assume that the adversary can choose the plaintext blocks. Is there another case (game) in which the adversary can ...
188 views

### Are SSL modes with forward secrecy vulnerable to the BEAST attack?

From the original BEAST paper, it seems to me that you need the same session key when encrypting data, so you can check if the original plaintext block is the same as your chosen plaintext (which is ...
195 views

### What are the standard procedures in cryptanalysis to analyze unknown ciphertext?

What are the "standard procedures in cryptanalysis" to analyze unknown ciphertext? In other words: Are there any protocols, officially acknowledged checklists or something like that which represent a ...
130 views

### No IV for one off symmetric file encryption

My question is (hopefully, for somebody) a simple one; but my project is holding as I'm not sure. I read on SO that generating encryption keys without an IV is a bad idea, so is using a constant IV ...
188 views

### HMAC and assumptions on the cryptographic hash

According to Wikipedia, a cryptographic hash function has the following properties: Pre-image resistance: Given $h$, it's difficult to find any message $m$ such that $h = H(m)$. Second pre-image ...
204 views

### How insecure in practice?

I am in attempt to understand relative insecurity of certain encryption schemes. Particularly of interest is DES and RC2. I know AES is better and should be used to encrypt. But practically, if ...
463 views

### Could quantum computers “break” symmetric crypto-systems (e.g. AES)?

These days I'm reading about quantum computing and quantum cryptography which I've found extremely interesting. Well, I also read some blog posts of Bruce Schneier talking about how quantum computers ...
142 views

### Is this algorithm secure?

I recently found this site, proposing a hashing algorithm for passwords. They describe the following: pad the password on both sides with SHA1(email) to ...
460 views

### Is Base64(SHA1(GUID)) still unique like the original GUID?

Basically what the title is; GUIDs are unique by design. If you run the GUID through SHA1 and then Base64 the hash, will the resulting string have the same guaranteed uniqueness as the GUID, or not?
285 views

### How does OAEP improve the security of RSA?

The heart of OAEP algorithm used for RSA encryption are the cryptographic hash functions $H$ and $G$. Does everybody (so also an adversary) know these functions? If YES: How does it help the ...
171 views

### Many consecutive hashes to slow down brute force attack?

I've heard that hash algorithms like bcrypt are more secure because they take longer to complete, and therefore take much longer to prute force, without a noticable ...
I'm taking a cryptography introduction course, and we're covering the definition of a secure PRF. I understand the test goes as follows: A challenger picks a function $f$ such that \$f \leftarrow ...