# All Questions

608 views

### decrypt AES without whole key

Is there a way to decrypt a AES cipher Text which was encrypted twice with some key, when having a part of this key? (the last 3 bytes of the key are missing)
388 views

### two public keys with same passphrase insecure? | can two hashes be compared?

Suppose someone had generated a 2.048-Bit RSA GPG/PGP key pair and published the public key on the usual key servers. Then he withdraws this key and generates a new one in 4.096-Bit RSA using the same ...
1k views

### How exactly would someone crack a private key passphrase? [closed]

Lets say for a PGP/GPG pair with a passphrase.
63 views

### Familiar key signing over video call

Say that a friend of mine and I have both generated new PGP keys, and we want to use a video call to verify each other's new keys because we live on opposite sides of the planet. While we could both ...
115 views

### Three different numbers with x³=x mod p

p is a prime greater than 2 and $a \in \mathbb{Z}_p$. Why are there exactly three solutions for a³ = a mod p? Obviously 0 and 1 are both in $\mathbb{Z}$ and valid solutions, but that still means, ...
164 views

### How to calculate Modulo using a standard calculator for a one time pad encryption

I wrote a simple python script to preform one time pad encryption I would like to be able to decrypt the ciphertext by hand. In my script I use mod 26. This is how I was shown to calculate a mod ...
117 views

### Perfect Forward Secrecy in TLS

I read that TLS does PFS using Diffie Hellman. However, DH can be used even without certificates - so how is DHE-RSA better than plain DHE? Is DHE a insecure algorithm, that DHE-RSA is needed?
235 views

### What is h in the improved solution of RSA algorithm?

I am trying to implement a proposed improved algorithm of RSA . Here the author has increased the number of exponents. However I am unable to understand what $h$ is in the Key generation step. Can ...
210 views

### Two-dimensional S-Box

Consider the following simple cipher: $$c_1 = S(m_1 \oplus k_1) \oplus k_2$$ Where $S$ is S-box, $m_1$ - 16-bit plain text, $k_1$ and $k_2$ is two parts of 16-bit key. If S-box is standard then this ...
83 views

### What is the difference between PPE and SPPE?

Can somebody explain, in simple terms, the difference between Pseudo Random Permutation Ensemble and Super Pseudo Random Permutation Ensemble?
302 views

### How does one deal with a negative “d” in RSA?

I'm trying to write my own RSA implementation using the textbook approach — which I know is not optimal — of picking primes $p$ and $q$, then computing Euler's totient $phi$, then randomly picking an ...
442 views

### Combining multiple symmetric encryption algorithms - implications?

I was just wondering if I add more security by combining two or more symmetric encryptions on a plain text. For example: Plaintext → AES → Twofish → Serpent Of ...
1k views

### Initialization vector in symmetric-key encryption

Can we use symmetric-key algorithms without an initialization vector? I am making an app where both the sender and receiver share a key and there is no way to create an initialization vector for each ...
183 views

### Which area of Maths should I pursue?

I would like to know which area of Mathematics would be most beneficial to cryptography. Surely Algebraic Number Theory and maybe to a lesser extend, Elliptic Curves, are closely linked to ...
123 views

### Does collision resistance stay when extending a hash function to a set domain?

Given a Cryptographic hash function $h$ for element $x$, let's extend it to sets via $H(S)=\prod_{x\in{S}}{h(x)}$. I am asking if the new hash $H$ (in domain of set) is still collision resistant? To ...
495 views

### Generate fixed length cipher text from arbitrary length plaintext

Using an encryption algorithm like AES, is it possible to generate a fixed length cipher text no matter how long the plain text becomes?
82 views

### What does “adaptively secure” mean?

In a paper it says "In the generic group model, the PRF is adaptively secure for inputs of $\mathbb{Z}_q^n$". Maybe a stupid question, but what does "adaptively secure" mean exactly?
135 views

### AES Message Authentication Vulnerability

My securities instructor recently posed this question to the class and I am bending my brain in half trying to figure it out. Suppose $y_1 = AES(K, x_1)$ and $y_2 = AES(K,x_2)$, and suppose you ...
140 views

### Do I need to know the “mode of operation” to decrypt a message encrypted with a block cipher?

If I have received an AES encrypted message, and if I do know the key with which it was encrypted, do I also need to know the mode of operation with which it was encrypted in order to decrypt it? My ...
754 views

### What is the probability of breaking the AES algorithm?

I am doing a project which requires the encryption to be done using AES. Is it really possible (technically) to crack AES? If yes, please tell me: What is the probability of breaking AES? How ...
207 views

### Why nobody considers counter re-keying as a standard Block Cipher Mode?

One of the simplest possible cipher modes is setting each successive key as a function F of the previous one. ...
175 views

### What does modular inversion mean?

I'm trying to implement an e-voting algorithm, which is described at the paper "Internet Voting Protocol Based on Improved Implicit Security" by Abhishek Parakh & Subhash Kak. At the Example 1 ...
2k views

### AES key length greater than 256 bits - is it dangerous to do an implementation outside of the standard?

I'm making a digital-asset manager written in ActionScript 3, it will be used to manage highly sensitive information. I'm using the AS3Crypto library (which has quite a good reputation) to implement ...
201 views

### What cipher mode is suitable for independantly decryptable short messages?

I'm building a small VoIP client which transmits encrypted audio data via UDP, and some packet loss is expected, so each packet will need to be decrypted separately even if others in the stream don't ...
104 views

### What can a master password also be called?

When having a company computer that is full disk encrypted, it is common that the boss have a master password / backdoor, so the data always can be decrypted. I have heard some call this for "scrow" ...
135 views

### Does a break in a collision resistance property of a hash function by definition implies an attack at the first pre-image attack?

Is there a formal security proof in the shape of reduction that states that if an attacker manages to break the collision resistance property of a cryptographic hash function (a random oracle) he will ...
87 views

### Initialization value (IV) bit error

When a bit error happens in an IV, what would the result of decrypting a cipher-text be in the different encryption modes like ECB, CBC, CFB, OFB, and CTR?
432 views

### Why is an Encrypt-and-MAC scheme with deterministic MAC not IND-CPA secure?

I'm preparing myself to exam, but I have a lot of troubles with rigorous proofs. It's the task from two-years ago exam. At the bottom I reminded one definition. Let $(Gen_E,Enc,Dec)$ be an ...
3k views

### What is the best algorithm to encrypt files for storage on untrusted servers?

I need an encryption algorithm that works fast on large files and doesn't increase the file size. It should use a key to encrypt/decrypt data. The files will be sent using ReST and over HTTPS, but a ...
78 views

### find solutions that solve the equations

I am implementing a timing attack on RSA for school and I need to generate two sets of messages $Y$ and $Z$ for which holds: $(Y^d \mod N) \cdot Y < N$ and $(Z^d \mod N) \cdot Z > N$ where ...
708 views

### AES GCM symmetric encryption of data at rest in c#, ciphertext much longer than plaintext

I've written encryption/decryption routines using AES GCM. Code can be found here. I recently realized that the cipher text is longer than I believe it should be. It should add the tag and IV onto ...
553 views

### Is it possible to use the RSA algorithm, or a variant, for software licensing?

I'm almost a newbie about RSA encryption, so my question could it be banal. I'm beginning to create a licensing system for my software. I need to distribute a crypted license file to many customers. I ...
426 views

### Real life collision when only using truncated hash

For MD5 two different inputs are known that produce the same 128 bit hash value. However, these inputs are artificially created for this specific purpose. For normal, real life inputs I believe no ...
766 views

### Which attacks can be avoided by the use of OFB instead of ECB?

For a file encryption program, I was told to use Output Feedback mode (OFB) instead of ECB (Electronic code book) mode. Which attacks can I avoid by this choice?
329 views

### Complexity of ECB and OFB

What is the complexity of ECB in terms of Time and Memory? and also in OFB? I can't find it in the internet, so I decided to ask it in here.
1k views

### Symmetric vs. Asymmetric cryptographic approaches to data security

I know the basic differences between Symmetric vs. Asymmetric cryptography, but I'd love to know more details: Exactly why is the asymmetric approach slower than the symmetric? Why does it make ...
174 views

### BigInteger in Java and Randomness

I'm looking for some PRNGs and – as I have been using Java for a long period of time – I thought that the BitInteger class, together with the ...
725 views

### suggestions for cryptography projects for an ece 3rd year student

I am an electronics and communication engg student currently doing my 3rd year second semester. i am interested in info coding and the security aspects of it. As an ECE student i want to know what is ...
456 views

### Creating a hash of XOR'd blocks

Suppose a message $m$ is divided into blocks of length $160$ bits: $m > = M_1 || M_2 || ... || M_l$ And define $h(m) = M_1 \oplus M_2 \oplus ... \oplus M_l$ Which of the three desirable ...
106 views

### Brute force RSA cracking

Suppose one had a complete list of primes up to $2^{n+1}-1$. Then wouldn't one be able to crack an $n$-bit RSA public key in time $O(\pi(2^{n+1}-1))$, making RSA insecure? Thanks, René
99 views

### Correct way to read a given permutation cipher?

In some literature I am reading – where they are explaining the permutation cipher – they have two examples, which encrypt a small block of text. But they seem to contradict each other: First ...
103 views

### Is RSA encryption the same as signature generation?

Is performing RSA encryption with the private key identical to performing RSA signature generation (signing)?
163 views

### Are the MD5 constants an S-Box?

I noticed that several hash algorithms, in this case MD5, defines some constants. MD5 defines 64 constant values (the shift count per round) which also gets expand (via sine) to a summand for a ...
151 views

### One time pad: why is it useless in practice?

The symmetric cryptosystem One time pad (OTP) seems to be very beautiful since it is perfectly secret according to Shannon. Many books, however, point out that the main drawback is that one must ...
165 views

### Does AES-128 have the same strength as AES-256 with a padded key?

When I use the same 128-bit key for AES-128 and AES-256 with a known/public padding for the latter, is there some weakness in AES-256 that is not present in AES-128 with essentially the same key? ...
212 views

### Why do some block cipher modes of operation only use encryption while others use both encryption and decryption?

In Chapter 6, Question 6.8, of his book “Cryptography and Network Security Principles and Practices”, William Stalling asks: Why do some block cipher modes of operation only use encryption while ...
142 views

### Encrypting the same message using different schemes

$E_1$ and $E_2$ are IND-CPA secure encryption schemes. $E$ is defined as: $k_1,k_2 \leftarrow K_1 \times K_2$ . $E_{k_1,k_2}(m) \leftarrow E_{1,k_1}(m)||E_{2,k_2}(m)$. Hope the notations are in an ...
128 views

### Is the term “Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem” a misnomer?

I have just started studying Elliptic Curve Cryptography, and I have this doubt. In ECC the group operation is addition (and not multiplication). So, why is ECDLP stated as a variation of the discrete ...
The likelihood of breaking, for instance, an AES-128 cipher is 100% after $2^{128}$ tries in brute force, meaning that I've got to try $2^{128}$ keys to certainly break it. What if I (hypothetically) ...