# All Questions

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### Ciphertext indistinguishability (IND-CPA) for symmetric cryptography

My understanding are these steps are necessary for symmetric cryptography to be IND-CPA: The adversary submits two distinct $M_0$, $M_1$ plain-texts to the challenger. The challenger selects one of ...
77 views

### Publicly Verifiable Authenticator

I am working on a Block Storage system, where I have the need to encrypt and authenticate blocks by a client, but also want the server to be able to detect bit corruption while minimizing the work ...
116 views

### Lowest number challenge scheme

Suppose Alice knows a secret number $a$, and Bob knows a secret number $b$. Is there a simple way for Alice and Bob to know who has the lowest number, without Alice & Bob exchanging their numbers ...
38 views

### Validity of authentication scheme?

Here's an authentication scheme I had in mind that combines the simplicity of HTTP Digest Authentication and the security of real crypto primitives. I have in mind the user-level authentication, ie ...
153 views

### Allowing multiple password reset tokens, and a question on random number predictability

I have a few requirements for a password reset system, along with some questions at the end as to its security. Requirements The aim is to provide a password reset mechanism satisfying the following ...
168 views

### PGP message integrity : How can receiver of an email check the integrity using the sender's public key?

PGP message integrity: Basically, only private key can decrypt message encrypted with public key. But in the message integrity service in PGP does the reverse, where the Hash of the message if ...
159 views

### Use AES-256 Or AES-CTR-256 For One Block?

I am have one block of data to encrypt that is 32-bytes long. Is it better to use the AES-256 primitive for this single block (not a stream) or AES-256-CTR, and also would there be any cons or pros to ...
750 views

### Encryption algorithm that produces dummy output on incorrect passwords

Background: I've been thinking about using encryption in the context of backing up files to untrusted locations (to the point of making the file publicly and widely distributed for practically ...
161 views

### Compared to GCM or XTS modes, how secure is H xor R1, E (R2, R1, Message) for confidentiality and integrity?

Let R1 and R2 be (32 byte) random values, and let a H = Hash (R1, R2, Message) be of the same length as each R value. Provided E (R2, R1, Message) is operating in some chaining mode, are there any ...
192 views

### How to calculate complexity of ElGamal cryptosystem?

How to calculate time and space complexity of ElGamal encryption and decryption as there are two exponentiation operation during encryption and one during decryption? Here is my code for encryption: ...
546 views

### Is TripleDES 168bit vulnerable to Differential Cryptanalysis?

I was reading this paper. In the table-1 of the paper it says TripleDES (showing both 128bit and 168bit keysize) is vulnerable to Differential Cryptanalysis. It also says that AES (showing all three ...
55 views

### AES multiple devices to server communication

I have multiple devices connecting to a server, whose communication needs to be encrypted. At the moment I have an AES library doing the job (possibly inadequately): I am using a database of keys on ...
236 views

### What is the motivation behind Key-policy Attribute-based Encryption?

What is Attribute Based Encryption? has a nice explanation what both forms (Ciphertext-policy Attribute-based Encryption and Key-policy Attribute-based Encryption) are. My question is: what is the ...
120 views

### How to construct a next bit predictor from a distinguisher

I read the claim, without proof, that it is possible to construct a next bit predictor for any PRNG given an oracle distinguisher for that PRNG and vice versa. How do I prove that? A distinguisher ...
150 views

### Which concrete applications benefit from Oblivious RAM constructions?

The main motivation for Oblivious RAM (ORAM) is that, for instance, in the "cloud" setting a client outsources his data to a server in the form of encrypted blocks. Later on, he wants to perform read ...
146 views

### AES-CTR-256 Sub Keys With Encrypted Sub Key Index

I was working with some encryption and I decided to put a spin. To preface this would be used to encrypt multiple files. You start with a key file generated from random data. For example you could ...
324 views

### AES VS PRNG+HASH+XOR

I was thinking of doing symmetric encryption using just hashing and simple XOR encryption. It would work as: Alice and Bob share a symmetric key Alice manages to send an (authenticated) IV to Bob ...
219 views

### Security equivalent to Diffie–Hellman problem?

I've been doing the security proof for one of my Theorem. Basically, given $g^a$, $g^b$, $g^{cb}$, $g$ and $c$ as known values. Is the problem of computing $g^{acb^{-1}}$ equivalent to the Diffie ...
278 views

### KDF based on HMAC-SHA-256

Is KDF based on HMAC-SHA-256(Hashed Message Authentication Code, Secure Hash Algorithm) algorithm a suitable option to generate symmetric key from the secret key? What is the basic funda, behind ...
1k views

### Is it safe to seed a random number generator from system time?

It seemed to me that the Bouncy Castle SecureRandom class for C#/.NET only uses DateTime.Now.Ticks as its seed by default. I ...
102 views

### Advantages of making streamcipher stream depend on plaintext?

Most descriptions that explain how streamciphers work (like the one on Wikipedia), tend to describe a model that boils down to a simple “$ciphertext = plaintext \oplus stream$”, where the stream is ...
197 views

### Decrypting an encrypted text out of order

Does there exist a cipher that can be encrypted twice with two different keys and then decrypted twice using either key first? For example: ...
125 views

### Rate my idea: is that a stronger GPG-like algorithm?

I came up with a simple idea but I don't know if it is really secure or not. I know that you shouldn't create any algorithm on your own. I'm just curious, that's all. Algorithm explanation: First ...
848 views

### Predicting PRNG given some of its previous output

I a have a question about PRNGs and this is my very first experience with them. I have the following generator that takes a 56-bit seed $p$ during initialization and then chooses both $X$ and $Y$ ...
59 views

### Process of dividing 168bit key into 56bit keys in TripleDES

I used TripleDES so many times but never thought about this. In TripleDES it requires 168bit ...
890 views

### Generate Elliptic Curve Private Key from User Passphrase?

I'd like to generate a private elliptic curve key from user input like pass phrase. Is the best way to do this with a key derivation function like PBKDF2? Is there a better way? Edit (based upon ...
95 views

### Turning PRPs in PRGs with a counter

I am following the Coursera Cryptography I course and I have the following question, I am a bit perplexed by the statement, in week 2 lecture "What are block cyphers?" that a counter-mode PRF is a ...
222 views

### OCB nonce usage

I've just come across this piece of code in Bouncy Castle's implementation of OCB Mode: ...
72 views

### Is it possible to deduce the value of a string when given its hash and multiples hashes of the string + other known strings?

To be clear, I have access to $H(S)$ and as many $H(S||K)$ as I want. Every string $K$ is known. Can I use the extra information to my advantage and try to deduce $S$, without requiring bruteforce? Or ...
235 views

### Can a EC private key be derived from a public key?

I understand that the public key does not expose the private key. That is not the question. The question is: Given a EC public key, can a different, but plausible and functional private key be ...
170 views

### Importance of salt when deriving an encryption key

I'm very curious to know this and a bit confuses too: Suppose, I have two files encrypted using AES-128bit with keys PBKDF2-derived from the same password and the same salt. If an attacker does ...
290 views

### Polynomial representation of the affine part of the AES S-box

I have been reading up on the polynomial representation of the AES Sbox (PDF: “Essential Algebraic Structure Within the AES” by Murphy and Robshaw) and I can't get it to produce the correct output. ...
98 views

### LFSR and Markov chain question [closed]

This may seem an elementary question about LFSRs, and their link to Markov chains. LFSRs show Markov chain behaviour in that there can be a transition matrix defined over the LFSR, this follows from ...
85 views

### Attacks on Full TripleDES [closed]

I have been reading about attacks and many of them work on specific rounds of TripleDES but not on full TripleDES. Is there any attack except brute force that works on full TripleDES? (theoretical)
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### Are HMACs based on hashes with larger bit-lengths also more secure?

When doing encrypt-then-mac, I can choose to use a hmac as the MAC. For example, I could use a hash like SHA-256 or SHA-512 (by using it as a keyed hash) to create that HMAC. Does it increase ...
329 views

### How secure is using a pad (using xor) on a encrypted data, for the purpose of obfuscating/hiding the underlying encryption?

Edit: I know this isn't really a one time pad (as pointed out), though I don't really know what to call it aside from just a pad, I guess. I have been reading around (mostly various stackexchange ...
275 views

### Is there a cryptographic function or system in which it becomes HARDER to break as time passes?

Is there a function or system which is time depending in which the effort required to brute force the decryption increases with time? It is easy to break encryption from many years ago because ...
436 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? ...
680 views

### Modes of operation that allow padding oracle attacks

It seems to me that padding oracle attacks are mainly a concern for users of CBC mode encryption. Question: are any other modes of operation vulnerable to padding oracle attacks? And if so, why? ...
205 views

### Given $g$, $b$, $g^{ab}$, is finding $g^a$ a hard problem?

As in the title, given $g$, $g^{ab}$ are big elements in a prime group $Z_p$ and $b$ in prime group $Z_r$ ($p > r$, $g$ is one generator of $Z_p$). $a$ is unknown and also in $Z_r$, is finding ...
122 views

### Storing encryption key

It's my first time using stackexchange! So, I am doing a password manager in Java. But now I am VERY confused because of the encryption. There will be the program login, where the user types its ...
165 views

### pairing-based schemes

some authors claimed that computational performance of a pairing-fee scheme (based on scalar multiplication over an elliptic curve group) is about 1000% more efficient than a pairing based one I would ...
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### How long does it take to crack PBKDF2?

How much time will it take to crack PBKDF2 while using a 9 character password? I'm not specifying any specific system or platform. If a brute force attack is made using the best ever super computer ...
897 views

### How vulnerable is the C rand() in public cryptography protocols?

I just learned about the basics of public cryptography a few weeks ago and I am curious as to why the C rand() function should not be used for crypto schemes. For example, say I want to generate a ...
133 views

### How to find which padding method is used in Block cipher(AES) encyption?

I have a cipher text which is encrypted using AES128 Algorithm. I want to know the following things to decrypt the cipher. IV (Initialization Vector) Padding Method Encryption Key How do I find ...
365 views

### Using GMAC for Authentication without encrypting the message

I am pretty new to cryptography and have a sample of GCM mode of operation for AES. PFB the code ...
192 views

### Decryption issue with self-coded AES-128

I have written my own AES-128bit implementation in Java, till yesterday I thought it would be alright. (I was working on the encryption) Now I’m trying to decrypt my encrypted cleartext, but this ...
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### Does bad IV generation weaken CBC? [duplicate]

Let's say that I generate an IV like so: dd if=/dev/urandom of=iv.bin bs=16 count=1 Let's also say that /dev/urandom has been ...
Given a (bad) modification of DSA where the hash function is the identity ($H(m)=m$), I am now supposed to design an attack. So $(m, (r,s))$ are given and I should be able to create a legit signature ...