# All Questions

118 views

### Why do we need extra hashing if we could use simpler scheme?

Lets say that we use init vector IV, key K and HMAC key H. Message is M. Mode of operation is CBC !!! We usually encrypt as this ...
297 views

### Is there some way to generate a non-predictable random number in a decentralised network?

Is there a way to generate a random number with given restrictions: It will be used in a decentralised network with a big number of peers (no central authority to generate it) Its generation should ...
246 views

### Can nesting different ciphers with different keys ever decrease security?

Very related to this question but not addressed there. Does the following construction risk introducing any vulnerabilities that render it less secure than using either of its individual components ...
172 views

### Can I jettison MAC if I already have SHA1(M)?

I'm currently using SSL with AES-CBC and HMAC for a file transfer containing string M. Now suppose Alice already knows SHA1(M) (and the adversary does not), and she downloads M from Bob using only ...
222 views

### Are there any multiparty homomorphic encryption schemes?

Are there any multiparty homomorphic encryption schemes ? Most of the literature is about two party schemes . Is there any generalization made for n party ?
297 views

### PRNG taking advantage of very large seed

Can anyone suggest a good (CS)PRNG algorithm that takes advantage of having a very large (ideally arbitrarily large) seed? I'd like to use several kilobytes, perhaps several hundred kilobytes, of ...
292 views

### Adaptive Hash Functions: How to tell how many iterations were used?

If an adaptive hash function like bcrypt or PBKDF2 is used in hashing passwords, the number of iterations used in the hashing process can be configured. For a penetration tester or a malicious ...
120 views

### How to properly format a PGP Message Block?

As sort of a follow up to my (currently) unanswered question, if it is correct, how do i properly calculate and format the packet that actually stores the data being encrypted? I thought I knew what I ...
664 views

### How to securely use Elgamal encryption in libgcrypt?

How secure is libgcrypt's Elgamal implementation of encryption (how different it is from textbook Elgamal), and how can I tweak padding and other preprocessing actions? For example, I know that usign ...
538 views

### Advantages of each encryption mode [closed]

What is the advantages of each encryption mode to other encryption mode.. for example what are advantages of CBC to PCBC, CBC to CFB just like that. so that I can filter what would be the best ...
2k views

### Cipher Feedback Mode

I can't understand what CFB really is. It said in Wikipedia that CFB is same as CBC, but I find that CFB is more difficult than CBC. Can someone explain to me how CFB works. Such as how ...
186 views

### Can a “pattern” in a series of passwords be detected from their hashes (and maybe a single raw password)?

Let's say I'm a lazy user of a system with annoyingly frequent password change policies. I may have a "good" password I used initially that is only used for this system but since I have to change it ...
230 views

### Is just a bit of random, “fully random”?

I understand that hashing a datetime is a pseudo-random number, and not good in a security context. But what about hashing a datetime plus a truly-random but constant string (just a string that an ...
572 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 ...
521 views

### 128-bit Pseudorandom number Generator

Is there any 128-bit pseudorandom number generator available? I tried the Blum Blum Shub Generator, but I can't produce a 128-bit pseudo-random number. Maybe before I produce a 128-bit pseudorandom ...
315 views

### Diffie hellman key exchange on elliptic curve over an extension field [closed]

I am attempting to do a final semester project where I implement Diffie-Hellman key exchange on an elliptic curve over an extension field (2^256). Can anybody help me to generate the extension field ...
356 views

### Poor man's SSL - is this method as safe as SSL/TLS?

I need to send data between two applications. I've got requirement that says that data should be transmitted using secure protocol such as SSL/TLS. Data is sent using TCP sockets and I don't have ...
240 views

### Can we trust digital signatures?

Consider that Alice wants to send a digitally signed message to Bob. Mallory might be able to publish his public key under Alice's name and then impersonate Alice to send a message with an apparently ...
282 views

### Deniability of OTR messaging

I've been looking at the off-the-record messaging protocol, and there is something about its deniability property that seems strange to me. Consider the following scenario: In the course of an ...
196 views

### Is there a way to break this encryption?

I was wondering about making up a simple system to encrypt a file: ...
403 views

### Encryption vs. decryption of same plaintext

Does the same encryption algorithm given the same plaintext always produces the same ciphertext? Does this cause any security flaws?
735 views

### RS Erasure Coding and Shamir's Secret Sharing

So I was trying to understand the basic difference between erasure coding and secret sharing, and I found this paper (that you can find here or here). For what I understand, it states that Shamir's ...
183 views

### Is a random length-extension worth the effort?

I'm conceiving an application that uses cryptographic tools and concepts for securing data. I know that's difficult and risky, therefore I prefer to ask around before implementing anything. When ...
336 views

### How secure is my OTP program?

I'm writing an One-Time Pad encryption program, because I got really interested in the idea of " encryption which has been proven to be impossible to crack if used correctly". I'm writing the program ...
391 views

### Can I pre-define the points in Shamir's Secret Sharing algorithm

With Shamir's secret sharing is it possible to pre-define the points returned by the algorithm? For simplicity if I have (k, n) where k=2, and n=4, and I have the points X,Y,Z, and Q. Can I create ...
618 views

### Are mouse movement coordinates useful as a seed for a RNG?

Is it good to use a mouse movement as a 64-bit random seed for a Pseudorandom Generator like AES in Counter Mode? Should I only need to get the X and Y coordinates of the mouse movement?
134 views

### Cryptographical formalization of computational privacy

Yesteryears problems of communication privacy has been well defined in cryptography through Asymmetric cryptography. Due to rise in Cloud computational model , computational heavy tasks are being ...
316 views

### Can I build a secure tweakable block cipher from a normal one by adding key and tweak?

Let (E,D) be a secure block cipher. Consider the following tweakable block cipher: ...
175 views

### Relation between Threshold Cryptosystem and Secure Multiparty Computation ?

Is there any relation between secure multiparty computation and threshold cryptosystem ?
231 views

### Generating a cryptographically secure, many-time use, symmetric encryption key

I need to generate a 256 bit encryption key described by the adjectives in the title. Currently I intend to create the key using this RNG. Is this a secure manner of creating the key, given that it ...
399 views

### Additive ElGamal cryptosystem using a finite field

I'm trying to implement a modified version of the ElGamal cryptosystem as specified by Cramer et al. in "A secure and optimally efficient multi-authority election scheme", which possesses additive ...
236 views

### Recovering state of modified RC4 key scheduling algorithm

Consider this algorithm: ...
260 views

### Why is a MAC needed?

I agree that for certain encryption systems or modes of operation, a MAC is indispensible. The best example are probably stream ciphers (and therefore also block ciphers in OFB or CTR mode) that ...
267 views

### Memory-hard operations in work-factor hash functions

I'm playing around with work-factor hash functions, and I'm looking for a memory-hard operation to make it resistant to GPU / parallel hardware attacks. I considered a very large (i.e. 64K) s-box that ...
141 views

### Trying to find an algorithm to share portions of a key with multiple people

Sorry if this question's a bit basic, but I don't know of any way to ask it concisely enough for a search... What I'm looking for is a proven means of doing the following: Create x number of ...
890 views

### Why should the RSA private exponent have the same size as the modulus?

Consider the generation of an RSA key pair with a given modulus size $n$ and a known, small public exponent $e$ (typically $e = 3$ or $e = 65537$). A common method is to generate two random primes ...
397 views

### Is there a standard for OpenSSL-interoperable AES encryption?

Many AES-encrypted things (files, strings, database entries, etc.) start with "Salted__" ("U2FsdGVkX1" in base64). I hear it's some sort of OpenSSL interoperability thing a b c. Is there some ...
2k views

### How does a birthday attack on a hashing algorithm work?

A "normal", brute-force attack on a cryptographic hashing algorithm $H$ should have a complexity of about $2^{n}$ for a hash algorithm with an output length of $n$ bits. That means it takes about ...
553 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 ...
618 views

### Is this a secure implementation of password reset email?

I am redesigning a password reset email mechanism because the existing implementation scares the hell out of me. My goal is to generate reset codes that are: Expired Tamper Resistant Single Use ...
359 views

### What algorithm would give the shortest ciphertext for very short plaintexts?

I have to encrypt some very short messages (approx. 5 characters) and I would like the ciphertext to be as short as possible. I am currently using AES but the initialization vector (IV) is making my ...
984 views

### Can you create a strong blockcipher with small blocksize, given a strong blockcipher of conventional blocksize?

Suppose I want a strong 20-bit blockcipher. In other words, I want a function that takes a key (suppose the key is 128 bits), and implements a permutation from 20 bits to 20 bits. The set of ...
832 views

### Format-preserving encryption implementations

I'm looking for a general, free implementation of Format-preserving encryption as described in this article and on wikipedia. Possibly in a well established cryptography toolkit. My intention is to ...
285 views

### Is truncating a hashed private key with SHA-1 safe to use as the symmetric key for AES for data at rest?

I realize this is mixing the purposes between asymmetric and symmetric crypto, but I was wondering if it is safe to use a hashed, truncated private key (asymmetric) as the symmetric key for encrypting ...
261 views

### Is there any recent cryptographic algorithm especially designed for low-level processors?

Most modern algorithms require relatively large amount of resources. Is there any recent (and freely usable) encryption/decryption algorithm which is specially designed for low-level microcontrollers ...
1k views

### Use of salt to hash a password

In a few implementations of hashed passwords, I have seen that the length of the random salt is chosen to be, say, 10 or "some constant". Is there any specific reason why the salt is chosen to have a ...
273 views

### Is there difference between Algebraic Homomorphic Encryption and Fully Homomorphic Encryption Schemes?

Is there difference between Algebraic Homomorphic Encryption and Fully Homomorphic Encryption Schemes?
158 views

### RSA Signature - Multiple Use Weakness

I cite from Fundamentals of Computer Security (Chapter 7 on Digital Signature, Paragraph 7.3 on RSA Signatures, page 289): Multiple uses of the RSA Signature scheme tend to weaken it. The way out ...