# All Questions

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### What size should the HMAC key be with SHA-256?

I'm trying to generate a secret key to be used for HMAC SHA-256 signature processing. I've seen many sample of keys with variable length from 32 characters to 96 characters. What is the ironclad rule ...
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### Which is better? Serialize and then encrypt or Encrypt and then Serialize

Let say in a simple Java program, Considering all the facts, like security and performance, Which is the best way to follow. I tried searching for a answer but proper answer is not out there.
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### How do I classify my RSA encryption strength?

So I generated 2 1024 bit prime numbers, I generated N and got a 2048 bit number, does that make my encryption 2048 bit or 1024 bit?
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### Guessing the IV for CBC

If I have the key, the ciphertext under AES-CBC and the plaintext, then how can I guess the initialisation vector?
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### What libraries do people use to implement and evaluate cryptography protocols?

I want to implement this credential system: “Anonymous Credentials Light” (PDF). The implementation would involve some zero-knowledge proof and some exponentiation. For some basic group computations ...
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### Symmetric encryption algorithms with large IVs and authentication?

Most modern symmetric ciphers require a nonce/IV. If the nonce is reused, security is lost. If the nonce is large enough, it can be generated securely by using a CSPRNG. This avoids needing to keep ...
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### How do RSA and ECDSA differ in signing performance?

Signature algorithms with elliptic curves have smaller output sizes compared to RSA for the same level of security. What about the processing time to generate a signature ? I've seen figures giving ...
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### Is PKCS#7 padding generated with a pseudo-random-number generator okay?

Let's take this PHP code. We use libsodium and libsodium-php. You have $text,$senderPrivateKey, ...
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### setting the MGF hash to a different value other than the regular hash with openssl for PSS signatures

In PKCS1's Probabilistic Signature Mode you have the Hash and the MGF Hash. Both appear to be, by default, sha1, with the OpenSSL CLI client, however, I can change it to sha256 with the following: <...
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### Theoretical decryption of RSA

I am currently looking into RSA and have some questions. I am interested in theoretical answers, assuming there is infinite time for decryption. Is it necessary to work out the private-key exponent ...
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### HMQV and MQV group representation attack

Currently reading Krawczyk's HMQV paper https://eprint.iacr.org/2005/176 and trying to follow what he says about the group respetnation attack on MQV: It says that for any group of prime order $q$, ...
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### PBEWithMD5AndDES Cipher does not check for integrity first?

I am running FindBugs with findsecbugs plugin to scan java code for security issues. I am getting "Cipher With No Integrity" error for a Cipher function implemented with "PBEWithMD5AndDES". The legend ...
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### What is it meant by a “hybrid argument”?

Can anyone explain (or point to a reference for) what a hybrid argument is in a security proof, and when it's convenient or preferable to use it? Among some of the places where I've seen it mentioned,...
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### Why is Paillier Cryptosystem called probabilistic?

The definition of Paillier Cryptosystem says that it is a probabilistic asymmetric key algorithm for public key cryptography. Can some body explain why it is called "probabilistic"?
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### Is that simple additive homomorphic scheme secure?

I am doing a little cryptography research and stuck with question. Suppose $\bar m$ is a vector of 64-bit numbers. And i want to have an additive homomorphic encryption over them. I choose large (...
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### Secure, patent-free alternative to NTRU

I'm working on a P2P communications and chat framework, and am looking for a quantum-secure asymmetric key exchange algorithm which I can use to perform a key exchange of an AES-256 bit key. This is ...
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### High-level overview of system architecture of LUKS/cryptsetup (how it works vs. how to setup) [closed]

I've been searching (unsuccessfully) online for a high-level overview of how LUKS/cryptsetup disk encryption works. I am reading through the cryptsetup source code to try to understand what is going ...
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### 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?
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### More rounds after AES related key attack?

In his blog Schneier discusses that there is a new related key attack on 10 rounds of AES-256 "Another attack can break a 10 round version of AES-256 in 245 time, but it uses a stronger type of ...
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### Diffie-Hellman: *assumed* largest prime factor of order of $g$?

I've read in several places: some of my confusions about DDH assumption - comment by Thomas Pornin on his own post Is there a key length definition for DH or DHE? - the answer by Tom Leek that ...
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### Feistel cipher vs Substitution-permutation network - number of rounds

So I have been doing for the last couple of days comparison between Feistel cipher and Substitution-permutation network. Now I can say I know a lot about them and their similarities and differences ...
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### Homomorphic OR operations

Is there an encryption scheme that provides efficient homomorphic OR operations at the ciphertext space? Of course any fully homomorphic encryption can be used but I do not require or want additional ...
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### Is this a correct way of use symmetric encryption?

If I want to encrypt some block of text in AES, but at the time of decryption I don't have a way to check if the symmetric key is the correct one. So I: Generate a randomKey, and use that to encrypt ...
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### Are specially designed fonts sometimes used in cryptography?

As a font designer, I was thinking that it would be very easy to design a special font that could either jumble characters of a language (or of a code) or simply (with the features offered by the OTF ...
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### Re-sending captured encrypted data

Let’s assume Bob is some algorithmic stock trading machine. Bob takes commands from Alice, who sends messages to Bob. For example: Alice could be sending a message to Bob to stop trading. But if ...
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### Do any (non-hardware) RNGs exist which could be used to create an OTP for crypto purposes?

I've stumbled (jobwise) over a system where small messages (512 Bytes or less) are encrypted and decrypted using a simple XOR using a OTP. That OTP is created using a seed based on the individual user ...
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### Does IKEv2 protocol have two modes like IKE

IKE Protocol have 2 modes, that modes have different structure. Does IKEv2 protocol have two modes like IKE.
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### Can the original message be retrieved from a public/private key signature?

When I sign a message (which has potentialy low entropy) using a private key and I send it without the original message, can the original message be retrieved from the signature(s)? I want to prove – ...
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### Data Encryption Standard (DES) S-Boxes

I read that the S-boxes introduce the much needed nonlinear behavior to DES. Can someone give me a lay mans explanation of why the effect of the S-boxes is said to be non-linear?
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### Zero-Knowledge Proof of a polynomial

I have two secret values $L_1$, $L_2$, and two Pedersen commitments $C_1 = C(L_1)$, $C_2=C(L_2)$. The commitments $C_1$, $C_2$ are public. Given a challenge $c$, I want to output $d = c*L_1+L_2$ and ...
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### How to compare the efficiency of public key cryptosystems, i.e., RSA vs El Gamal?

As part of my Mathematics degree I'm taking a Discrete Mathematics module which partially covers Public Key Cryptography but does not at all enter it in depth. I'm currently working on a project that ...
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### What are the relative merits of padding algorithms pkcs7, iso7816, and x923?

I am assuming none of these padding algorithms are "the best"... But what are the advantages and disadvantages of using them? PKCS7 is certainly the most commonly used one, but I am interested in ...
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### Lightweight Asymmetric encryption algorithm

I'm an embedded systems researcher, and new in the crypto field. Actually, I need to know if there are any lightweight asymmetric encryption algorithm especially considering the time needed for key ...
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### Hardware Random Numbers - How to convert Voltage signal into binary?

I have a physical unit, e.g. a resistor. I bias it with current and measure the voltage. Let us assume that the fluctuations ($\Delta V=V-<V>$) of this voltage signal are random. Now, $\Delta V$ ...
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### Managing data access through asymmetric cryptography

I want to manage authorization, as 3rd-party permissions, through asymmetric cryptography. I'm concerned about how it is possible to share access of encrypted data with N entities, be able to revoke ...
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### How exactly is an enigma simulation software supposed to encrypt alphabets?

EDIT: The model I'm trying to make is "Enigma 1". I learned initially about it from a book called "Code Book" and then looked at it in detail from its wikipedia page. The rotor wiring and other ...
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### Compromise between HMAC and Digital Signature, by encrypting and sending secret key?

For achieving stateless authentication tokens (like JWT), is there a compromise between the performance of HMAC, and public key distribution of Digital Signature? Scenario: Sender is a centralized ...
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### Clarification regarding multiple modular exponentiation

If the base is same and exponents are different, for example: $R_1=b^x\bmod{p}$; $R_2=b^y\bmod{p}$; $R_3=b^z\bmod{p}$; ($p$ is large prime (2048 bit); $x$, $y$ and $z$ - 160 bit integers)) To ...
Scenario: Assume I encrypt message $m$ using Paillier encryption, so I would get $c=E(m)$. I give the identical $c$ to two different parties, parties $D$ and $E$. Party $D$ computes: \$c_{D}= E(m)^{...