# All Questions

73 views

### Swap $x$ and $k$ in GGM construction

I'm studying the Goldreich-Goldwasser-Micali construction from pseudo-random generators to pseudo-random functions. In this specific construction, assume $G:\{0,1\}^n\rightarrow \{0,1\}^{2n}$ is a ...
39 views

### How to Exchange Random Coin Flips between Two Untrusted Parties [duplicate]

I'm not sure if this belongs here, but my friend and I were wondering if there was a good algorithm to exchange random coin flips to make some random decision between two untrusted parties without the ...
149 views

### Linear Recurrence, keystreams, and periods

I am trying to understand the following problem: Consider the following linear recurrence over $Z_2$ of degree four: $z_{i+4} = (z_{i+3} + z_{i+2} + z_{i+1} + z_{i}) \bmod 2$ i >= 0. ...
44 views

### Generating interactive, secure multiple ECC key pairs deterministically

In Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) assuming user A has a private public key pair of $S$, $P$ accordingly with generator point $G$ which as we know is: $$P=S*G$$ Assuming that user A wants to ...
64 views

OTP encryption is unbreakable as it seems. I have read some stuff (wiki, blogpost, etc.) but i would not find any information how they are used. If i wanted to create a messenger service, how would i ...
74 views

### Is the reverse of the “discrete logarithm problem” equally dificult? [duplicate]

It is not easy to understand why this becomes a hard problem. The discrete logarithm problem as defined here: “any integer k that solves $b^k = \{g\mod{n}\}$ is termed a discrete logarithm” i.e.: ...
221 views

### Proving the existence of a pseudorandom function

I've been reading the Introduction to Modern Cryptography book by Katz and Lindell as part of my own learning and have come across this exercise which I am not sure how to approach. The exercise is: ...
84 views

### How to generate the APA SBox?

I am trying to generate the S-Box provided in the Affine Power Affine paper (PDF) but I'm not sure I understand it fully. The essence of the paper is this: ...
45 views

### Deterministic outputs based on non-connected inputs

I am looking for a one way function that can generate outputs deterministically. However, revealing any of the inputs dont allow the person to generate other inputs. E.g: lets say we have a list of ...
230 views

### Multiple AES/ECB encryptions of different data with same key all end with same pattern

We have used "AES/ECB/PKCS5Padding" with a 256 bit key. We encrypt different streams of data (blockwise) with the same key. Each encrypted stream ends with same pattern. What is the reason for this?
48 views

### Determine encryption method with input and output

A website stores username and password in a session cookie. In the cookie the password is "encrypted" or modified in some way. Given that the "encrypted" version is always the same, I do not believe ...
72 views

### Key distribution and computation for homomorphic encryption

How can a system where the party performing a computation also possess the private key and still not know the answer of computation be designed ? Also the other party who does not have the private key ...
57 views

### SSL certificate / SSL configuration - FIPS-197 compliance

What does it mean when we talk about FIPS-197 compliance in the context of SSL certificates, their deployment and usage ? I am almost certain that the FIPS-197 compliance in the context of SSL ...
383 views

### How does a certificate authority issue a digital certificate?

I am new to cryptography and I want to know the details of how a Certificate Authority issues a digital certificate. From what I know (please correct me if I'm wrong at any parts of my explanation): ...
9k views

### How is XOR used for encryption?

I am a programmer, so when I hear XOR, I think about the bitwise operator (e.g. 0110 ^ 1110 = 1000). The mention of "XOR" comes ...
328 views

### Why isn't CTR mode (counter mode) used more often?

For the CTR mode, the design is good for parallelization, yes, it seems the benchmark of the program downloaded from crypto++ proves that on an Intel I7 CPU. My question is that as most of CPU on ...
93 views

### Verification of Pinocchio (verifiable computation)

I am reading the Pinocchio paper. The calculated result $y$ is a part of the verification input, but it seems to me, the verification procedure does not utilize the result $y$. Can anyone can help me ...
116 views

### Beginner question about secure communication with one user using DES

I am currently learning about encryption and I was asked a question: If a customer only had a DES system how could I secure messages as DES is not secure. I was researching this and I came across a ...
184 views

### Super-simple encryption of short strings

I want to anonymise the initials of experiment participants by giving each a pseudonymic set of initials, by encrypting their true initials. Their initials are only two or three letters in length. ...
85 views

### side channel attacks against TDES (compared to AES)

We all know AES has some pretty strong side channel attacks, some where (with a couple of hundred know plain- and ciphertext combinations) a key can be derived in a matter of minutes. Others may take ...
215 views

### Elliptic curve cryptography G*G

I understand how ECC works for the point multiplications and stuff. All we normally do is to multiply a scalar number (lets say d as a private key) with the base point generator ...
44 views

### Protocols with deliberate errors

This question is motivated by discussion cocerning “The Two Sheriffs” puzzle, see (1) and (2). Are there any public key protocols where Alice and Bob intentionally insert errors in their messages? ...
121 views

### Known plaintext attack on 3 round SIMON block cipher

I am attempting to write a program to perform a linear approximation attack on a reduced round version of the SIMON block cipher, but I am stuck on how to actually apply the linear approximation to ...
50 views

### Cache Attacks on Cloud Infrastructures

I read something about cache attacks like this: Enter KSM (Kernel SamePage Merging). KSM enables the kernel to examine two or more already running programs and compare their memory. If any memory ...
1k views

### How does ECDH arrive on a shared secret?

I read a brilliant, three part article on Elliptic Curve cryptography (one, two, three). It was able to explain Elliptic Curves to me in a way that didn't require a math degree to understand. The ...
362 views

### Is SSL getting faster because it's getting less secure?

There has been some discussion about it being more practical to use SSL due to advances in hardware. From my understanding, stronger public-key encryption means that both encrypting/decrypting and ...
148 views

### what are the NTRU keysize and application in industry ?

I'm a student currently working on a research project on the NTRU cryptosystem, I've read some papers about this cryptosystem, and in those papers they are talking about keysize, is it the size of the ...
53 views

### Why rogued certificate from hash collision is harmful

I cannot understand why rogued certificate is thought harmful though It can be used to impersonate some website. The attacker can craft a rogued certificate with different identities and public key ...
54 views

### Different keys for clients but 1 key on server

Is it possible to have different keys on alot of (embedded) devices and just have 1 key on a server (to witch all these devices connect)? The main point here being when 1 device is compromised this ...
108 views

### What is SHA-256 in Conjunctive Normal Form?

What is the conjunctive normal form (CNF) representation of $\text{SHA-256}(m)=h$, where $m$ is of fixed (or bounded) size and $h$ is 256 bit?
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### Is there any patent free EC point compression available? If not, should I GPL/LGPL my code?

I'm currently using the BouncyCastle implementation in uncompressed mode, and considering releasing an optimized version of EC code that uses point compression. It appears the only thing limiting me ...
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### Integrity compromised - HASH modified

As we are all aware that HASHing is user to verify integrity in cryptography. I have a query about hashing. Suppose a man in the middle attacker manipulates the data and creates new HASH (by running ...
2k views

### phi(P*Q) = (P-1) * (Q-1)

I was trying to understand RSA when I encountered the Euler Function. I do understand this: $\phi(P)$, where $P$ is a prime is $P-1$. However it seems that for a number $N$ such at $N=P\cdot Q$ where ...
153 views

### Are there drawbacks to encrypting data locally before being encrypted in cloud backup (multiple encryption)?

I am planning on backing up my hard drive using a cloud backup service but have become skeptical of the industry based on incidents like these: ...
100 views

### Under what conditions did a Bletchley bombe stop?

I am trying to understand the conditions necessary for one of the Bletchley Park bombes to stop. Let me give an example. I have been experimenting with Enigma machine and bombe simulators to try to ...
62 views

### DHKE choice of private keys

In some literature it is written that the private key should be chosen random from {2,3, ..., p-1} and in some it says {2,3, ..., p-2} I guess p-1 is a weak private key, but why is that so? The ...
93 views

### Rabin cryptosystem with 1 mod 4

We have p and q which are distinct primes congruent to 1 mod 4. Then we have n = p*q. Do you know any algorith for calculating square roots for the decryption in this case? I'm asking for some ...
169 views

### correct usage of keys and nonce

I've being studying up on AES, GCM, CBC, HMAC and a lot of other primitives and am somewhat ( a little bit, perhaps) familiar with them however I am still a bit weary on the use of the keys and nonce. ...
62 views

### Length of prime number used in Pedersen Commitment

I am writing a program using a Pedersen commitment scheme and all I'm missing is an appropriate length for my prime $p$. I have heard that a length of $2^{80}$ is ok, is that correct?
97 views

### Plaintext block chaining, bad idea why?

Ahead of the question, little warning. Question is not about what are the better options. Question is why it is bad idea? Ok, suppose we have plaintext $p$, which divided into blocks: ...
130 views

### Security of basic SHA256 MAC in an authenticate-then-encrypt scheme

I know the following construct is insecure if the MAC as defined below is appended to the encrypted message in an Encrypt then Authenticate (EtA) scheme. $k_1$: encryption key $k_2$: authentication ...
765 views

### Why does applying 56-bit DES twice only give 57 bits of security? [duplicate]

Given two 56-bit keys, $k_1$ and $k_2$, why does $E_{k_1}(E_{k_2}(M))$ only give 57 bits of security? So basically I'm unsure why it only gives 57 bits of security; I understand that one key will ...
80 views

### Prove there is PRG that is not necessarily one-to-one

We assume that there is at least one PRG .Now prove there is a PRG like $G:\{0,1\}^{n} \rightarrow \{0,1\}^{l(n)}$ such that it is not necessarily one-to-one.
115 views

### Is it ever unsafe to compress an EC point?

I am working with a library that outputs EC points in uncompressed form. To save space, I'm considering modifying said library to use compressed EC points. Assuming that I keep track of the sign bit ...
84 views

### Retrieve value of private key after encryption with the public key

Is there a way to find an RSA private key after it is encrypted with the corresponding public key? Does there exist an algorithm to recover the private key in this special case?
92 views

### Proving that a plaintext is the Paillier decryption of a certain ciphertext [duplicate]

Assume that Alice received 100 ciphertexts encrypted with additive homomorphic encryption, say Paillier, using the same public key that belongs to Bob. Alice added all of them, and wants to know the ...
706 views

### Compressing EC private keys

For reasonable security, EC private keys are typically 256-bits. Shorter EC private keys are not sufficiently secure. However, shorter symmetric keys (128-bits, for example) are comparably secure. I ...
1k views

### What are the constraints for an IV using AES in CBC mode?

I'm designing a protocol for use into a VPN software. The VPN frames are encapsulated into AES-256 CBC encrypted frames. I understand that IVs must be uniquely used for each message encrypted with ...