# All Questions

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### Cycle attack on RSA

I originally posted this question in the mathematics section, you can see it here. Let $p$ and $q$ be large primes, $n=pq$ and $e : 0<e<\phi(n), \space gcd(e, \phi(n))=1$ the public encyption ...
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### Does changing the random number selected for each message increase security in Schnorr's scheme?

I was reading about Schnorr's scheme and in that for signing the signer generates a random number and continues with his operation. I am trying to implement this in a scenario where the signature ...
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### Decrypt AES-128 with key file but missing IV? [duplicate]

I want to decrypt a file that has been encrypted using AES-128 in CBC mode using OpenSSL. I got the “.key” file – which is 32 digits – but when I try to decrypt with OpenSSL, the program asks me for ...
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### How do institutions like banks do RSA with big primes?

When encrypting with RSA it is often infeasible to decrypt by just doing c^d mod n, because for example when using the primes $(p,q)=(12553,1233)$, which are small ...
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### Why should I use Authenticated Encryption instead of just encryption?

There are various different modes of operation for block cipher use, some of which provide "encryption" and some of which provide authenticated encryption. Why should I use an authenticated ...
151 views

### Generating a number using SHA512 that users can later verify (once I publish secret seed)

I've wrote following C# method that basically takes 3 seeds and gives you number in 0-100 range. I then use that number for variety of purposes but for this question the most important one is the ...
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### Demonstrating Diffie-Hellman key exchange using only p, A, B;

I'm trying to figure out how to demonstrate DH key exchange using what is given to me. I'm unsure of how to tackle the problem. Question: Demonstrate Diffie-Hellman key exchange. Given p=104933, ...
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### Operation sequence authentication shared storage

Let's say there is a shared storage: USB flash drive, external HDD, or whatever you like. I'll refer to it as disk. Also, there are multiple parties, let's say Alice and Bob (may be thousands of them) ...
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### Expand 1-n Oblivious Transfer to retreave only an item I, for which permissions exist

To my understanding in a 1-n Oblivious Transfer the Sender has some Values $X_1...X_N$ and the receiver wants to retreave some $X_I$, with $1 \le I \le N$. Can one now somehow guarantee, that the ...
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### How is the curve equation used in ECC?

I have a hard time learning exactly how the elliptic curve equation is used in the ECC. $$y^2 = x^3+ax+b$$ If someone knows and could explain to me in simple steps how this is done or a link to it ...
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### TLS/SSL's usage of Non-Ephemeral DH vs DHE

These questions revolve around DH and ECDH vs DHE and ECDHE. Specifically within the context of TLS/SSL. There are three ...
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### Re-encryption mixnet

Can an Elgamal-based re-encryption mechanism be used in a free route mixnet topology? Until 2006 it was not possible, but I couldn't find the later research results or achievements. Can anyone suggest ...
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### Testing hardware random number generators? [closed]

I would like to know how to test hardware random number generators. What techniques, tools or tricks to solve the problem ? Any practical difficulties, implementation complexities etc.
147 views

### Security Consideration on The Use of Random Number in Digital Signature

key-exchange protocol allows two parties to establish a shared key over public network. Lacking of authentication the original Diffie–Hellman key exchange is insecure under man-in- -the-middle ...
340 views

### Authenticated DH, what protocols are secure?

I read about STS + variants being insecure in the SIGMA paper, which then proposes SIGMA as a replacement. Are the SIGMA variants still considered secure or are there some other protocol that's ...
141 views

### Why the need to hash before signing small data?

I’ve got two questions: I’m doing the following: Data : uuid + int + nonce Signature: ECDSA(sha256(Data) ) To verify the signature: ...
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### HKDF vs TLS PRF. Which of the one is better? [closed]

Which of the one (HKDF or TLS1.1+ PRF) is more secure and why?
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### Using the same private key for two ECC key pairs

Let $(d_1,Q_1)$ and $(d_2,Q_2)$ be ECC key pairs over two different elliptic curves (say NIST P-224 and NIST P-256). According to the Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem (ECDLP), if the private ...
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### Is it possible to weaken a bitcoin private key by “using” it elsewhere?

What are the increased possibilities (if any) of being able to crack a private key given the following: The associated bitcoin (ECDSA Secp256k1-based) public key is known. The private key has been ...
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### Is it possible to find an attack that can reduce the key space of the Hill cipher with $d*d$ key matrix to $26^d$ [duplicate]

Is it possible to find an attack that can reduce the key space of the Hill cipher with $d*d$ key matrix to $26^d$ instead of $26^{d^2}$?
3k 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 ...
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### Is Porticor's “homomorphic” key encryption something that can really be done or is it just marketing hype?

Porticor has an interesting file encryption offering for encrypting and decrypting files in an MySQL database quickly. They are an Amazon AWS (Amazon Web Service) Partner Network technology partner ...
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### Is it possible to weaken a bitcoin private key by 'using' it elsewhere? [duplicate]

What are the increased possibilities (if any) of being able to crack a private key given the following: The associated bitcoin (ECDSA Secp256k1-based) public key is known. The private key has been ...
21 views

### Any good means to enhance the security of encryption processing with random prefix codes?

From a recent question of mine in this forum "Is substitution with random prefix codes secure?" I obtained a very valuable answer: "No. These codes are not secure. They are not secure against a ...
154 views

### If PGP and GPG both follow the OpenPGP standard, are they 100% compatible in all use cases?

If someone gives me their PGP key, can I use it with GPG, and vice versa, all the time (100% interchangeable)? Or are there times when they are not compatible, when only PGP can be used with a PGP ...
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### Reusing PGP key when generating SSL Certificate Authority?

Does it make sense to reuse some of the keys from my PGP (gnupg, gpg) keyblock when generating my own SSL Certificate Authority (a toy one for myself and a few web services of mine)? In an ideal ...
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### Any field in a PKI certificate where some text info can be stored?

I want to store 5-10 lines of Text Info in a PKI Certificate. All I want is that when using common tools like openssl command line or certutil from Microsoft, this text info should be displayed as is. ...
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### In SSL/TLS, what part of a data packet is Encrypted and Authenticated? [migrated]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the Application Data record that carries secured traffic. I understand TLS/SSL is a "authenticate-then-encrypt" protocol, which means an HMAC is calculated over the ...
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### Proof of storage scheme

I'm familiar with client puzzles, where the client performs some work and there is a way to prove to the server that the client has done so. Is there a way to do this, but where the client's resource ...
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### Alert protocol in TLS

Assuming the alert protocol is encrypted AFTER a session has been established and the structure below, how does the client know whether to expect encrypted data or not? ...
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### Defending hybrid encryption schemes against padding oracle attacks

I intend to use a generic integrated/hybrid encryption scheme for transmitting information between a client and a server. Key encapsulation: a 128-bit symmetric key is generated and asymmetrically ...
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### Times of nested algorithms in proofs of security

Proofs of security may be constructed such that an adversary $A$ is used to construct an adversary $A'$. The reduction/algorithm which uses $A$ has to perform a number of computations in order to ...
313 views

### Discrete log problem, when we have many examples

Suppose I have many instances of the discrete log problem, all using the same unknown exponent. Is this problem easier than the standard discrete log problem? Oh, heck, I should be more precise. ...
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### What might be assumed about a PRF if the key has been chosen?

The defining feature of a PRF $f:\{0,1\}^k\times\{0,1\}^s\mapsto\{0,1\}^*$ is that, if the first parameter is selected at random, it should be indistinguishable from a function ...
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### Generating shared secret random permutation

There are three blind card game players. Each player does not trust any other, even prejudicing other two players may not be blind, or there may be others in the room, peeking at their cards. In ...
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### Is Encryption without knowing the input directly possible at all?

I know the question is rather unusual, but let me clarify what I'm searching for: There is one person, lets call her $Alice$. $Alice$ has $n$ plaintexts $t_1..t_n$ and $n$ public keys $pk_1..pk_n$ of ...
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### Cryptographically strong pseudo-random seq. generators

If a pseudo-random sequence generator is built so that it uses an n-bit seed and outputs a string that is of length x. Let's say one wants to generate a bit string of length y and uses the previous ...
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### Is symmetric key encrypted with server's public key secure

I'm trying to implement lightweight yet secure protocol for communicating two trusted parties with each other. Consider following scheme: Alice wants to establish secure two-sided channel with ...
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### derangements and permutations in cryptography

Given a partial key for a mono-alphabetic substitution cipher (missing 11 letters), calculate the number $N$ of possible keys, given that no plaintext letter can be mapped to itself. ...
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### Why does Fortuna RNG use double SHA-256?

In the paper for Fortuna the authors say that you can use any good digest algorithm (obviously as long as its output is 256 bit) and then they recommend double SHA-256. Why? What's the benefit? What ...
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### Implementing AugPAKE over ECC

The AugPAKE spec says it can be implemented over elliptic curves. This sounds very promising, but they don't actually back that claim. Can this really be achieved? If so, how would one go about ...
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### Is differential calculus related to RSA?

I'm writing a high school math paper on RSA and I'm wondering if it's possible to relate calculus to RSA. Is calculus used for any part of RSA? It can be for proving equations/theorems, for generating ...
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### Does repeated hashing create a PRF?

Say you start with a seed value and hash it with a secure hashing algorithm, then hash the output of that and so on... Is this a PRF? Or does it have a certain computable period?
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### At what stage is DHE and RSA used during the SSL/TLS handshake?

At what stage of the SSL/TLS handshake is the DHE and RSA used and what is the purpose of using a pre-master secret when you could just use RSA to exchange the symmetric key (i.e. AES) for further ...
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### Perl DES PCBC as protection against decryption/crypt analysis

Is error propagation in DES PCBC a good method to prevent decryption/crypt analysis by third parties? If I had a very large file encrypted with Perl's DES with the PCBC option, and then removed the ...
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### Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange with Authentication: Man-in-the-Middle query

I have been reading up on MiTM attacks, and the prevention of them using public key certificates. Recently I learnt about Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange with Authentication, and how it uses signed ...
Alice signs a message $m$ with her private key, yielding a signature ($r$,$s$). I want to prove to someone else that I have this signature, but I don't want them to have the knowledge of what ...