# All Questions

60 views

### Using similar passwords and salts for PBKDF2

I'm trying to generate a bunch of pseudo-random keys for AES using PBKDF2, where the AES ciphers will be used in CTR mode as pseudo-random number generators. My goal is to create a 2-dimensional ...
191 views

### CTR_DRBG versus OFB_DRBG

As far as I know, in the development of ANSI X9.82, there was consideration of OFB_DRBG, a pseudorandom number generator based on block ciphers like CTR_DRBG, but it appears to have been rejected of ...
29 views

### AES-XTS: find key from ciphertext and plaintext [duplicate]

Let's say I have a plaintext, the corresponding ciphertext encrypted using AES-XTS, and the initialization vectors. Is there any way - not brute force, of course - to compute the key? Even if there's ...
174 views

### (Simple) Tool for analysing performance (speed in particular) of cryptographic hash function?

I am doing some research for which I intend to insert some (external) function in different cryptographic hash functions and I would like to analyse how the insertion of this extra code in the hash ...
75 views

### Zero knowledge proof relation + number is binary

I want to develop a ZKPK for the following problem: $$Y=g_0^{r_Y} \prod_{i=1}^n g_i^{s_i}$$ and $$Z=h_0^{r_Z} \prod_{i=1}^n h_i^{s_i}$$ I want to proof knowledge of $r_Y,r_Z$ and $s_i$ which I have ...
356 views

Given is a system, which does provide only implementations of fast hash algorithms (MD5, SHA1, SHA-256, SHA-512). There is no implementation of PBKDF2, bcrypt or scrypt available. The system does ...
503 views

### AES Mix Columns and Shift Rows

Why we use Mix Columns and Shift Rows in AES? FOr example, if i want implement an AES algorithm without Mix Columns and Shift Rows what is the difference in the ciphertext?
5k views

### How do I store encrypted files on a web server and decrypt them locally?

I want to store files (images) on a public webserver and let users see them if they know a password. The server shouldn't have the unecrypted files and the server can only serve files, not perform ...
195 views

### OTP - Why not reuse key? EDITED! [duplicate]

EDIT: REUSING KEY IS SECURE! OTP - Reusing key IS SECURE! PROVED! This might sound really dumb but why is it bad/insecure too use the same key twice on One-time-pad? Question: Why and how does using ...
69 views

### Is $f\colon x\mapsto g(x+1)$ necessarily a pseudorandom function?

Let $l\in\mathbb N$ and suppose $$g\colon\;\{0,1\}^l\to\{0,1\}^l$$ is a pseudorandom function. Is $f$, defined as below, necessarily a pseudorandom function as well? $$f(x)=g((x+1)\bmod2^l)$$
42 views

### Would a pictographic, phoneme-based, hand cipher be difficult to crack with computer crypt-analysis?

What I'm talking about is a hand cipher which uses phonemes instead of individual characters and pictograms instead of the usual shuffling/substitution methods (e.g Caesar, Solitare, Vignere). The ...
79 views

### How to encrypt a vector $e\in Z^{m}$ using LWE

I have a vector $e \in Z^{m}$, now I want to encrypt it by using LWE (Learning With Errors). Because in LWE, we have to encrypt of a bit $\{0,1\}$. How can I encrypt a vector $e \in Z^{m}$? Thank you ...
42 views

### Using a Secure RNG in Probabilistic Fair Exchange

I am attempting to implement probabilistic fair exchange described in Probabilistic Non-Repudiation without Trusted Third Party. A secures a message using AES with 512 bit keys (in my ...
1k views

### Why is this the inverse of a Enigma Machine rotor?

I am learning about how the Enigma Machine works and I found this example of one letter being encrypted by an Enigma Machine. It shows the letter "G" going through three rotors and then it goes into ...
126 views

### What is the proper way to generate a fixed length key from a variable length password?

The password is entered by the user and the key is processed locally. Neither the password nor the key will be stored, only used and forgotten (but hopefully not by the user). Is SHA256 by itself ...
87 views

### How much of Probability do I need to know to study Cryptography?

I have just started MSc in Computer Security. I didn't study probability before. Now, I have some short time to complete my MSc semester. What are the minimum topics from 'Probability' do I need to ...
328 views

### Prove that if we redefine the key space, we can assume Gen chooses a key uniformly

I am working on problem 2.1 in Introduction to Modern Cryptography 2nd edition by Katz and Lindell. 2.1) Prove that by redefining the key space, we may assume that the key generation algorithm ...
866 views

### Is the logic for how the enigma machine worked documented somewhere?

I know that there is a formula to calculate the result of any input but is the logic of how the machine actually worked documented? I have seen schematics for the circuitry and even a how to make ...
120 views

### algebraic attacks for mixed operations (mod 2 and mod 256) [closed]

If a cipher has mixed operations, e.g $\oplus$ (addition mod $2$), and addition modulo $2^8$. How we we going to express them mathematically? Thanks in advance!
116 views

In cases where a large complex data structure contains elements that are a mix of confidential and not-so-confidential data, what would be the pros & cons of: encrypting the entire structure ...
96 views

### Randomness in generation of Virtual Machines from pre-built Image [closed]

I am studying Multi-Tenancy vs. Virtualization, and I got thinking about randomness, true randomness, virtualization etc, and I couldn't find anything on it. From what I gather, ...
149 views

### Salsa20-GCM composition secure?

AES-GCM seems to be used by everyone but I never seen even one post about Salsa20-GCM. Is it secure? Wikipedia mentions that GCM ...
126 views

### Is it possible to combine true streaming with AEAD?

It seems there is a difference between "streaming" in cryptographic sense (as in CTR) and "streaming" in general programming sense (as in "accept a file larger than RAM from socket and save it on ...
491 views

### How multiplicative property of RSA can be exploited

It is known that RSA has the multiplicative property $E(m_1) \cdot E(m_2) = E(m_1 \cdot m_2)$ because $m_1^e \cdot m_2^e = (m_1 \cdot m_2)^e \pmod n$ But how can this property be used to break ...
81 views

### Algebraic cryptanalysis on public-key schemes

The book Algebraic Cryptanalysis (Bard, G.V.; Springer, 2009) speaks about transforming a symmetric scheme into a system of polynomial equations and solving these equations to break the scheme. But ...
266 views

### KDFs for symmetric encryption master key & serial number

Let's assume that I generate a high entropy AES master key (through /dev/random for example) and I want to derive it with a fixed-length serial number (12345 for instance). The derived key is used to ...
330 views

### CTR HMAC SHA256 implementation

After trying to invent my own AES mode, I decided to just implement something that's known to work, namely CTR with HMAC SHA256. From what I understand, I can use the IV as a counter, and the IV ...
172 views

### What use is the signature without the message under RSA?

Using RSA for signing & verification, is there a way to take a valid signature for an unknown message, and for someone else to generate a valid signature using a different key against the valid ...
553 views

### Is it possible to tweak AES-GCM so that it is satisfactory for whole-disk encryption (like XTS mode)?

Is it possible to leverage a preexisting implementation of AES-GCM to provide the key security benefits essential for full-disk encryption (similar to AES-XTS)? GCM is a popular encryption mode ...
8k views

### Differences Between White-Box Cryptography and Code Obfuscation

I have been reading the question "What is a white-box implementation of a cryptographic algorithm?" and it led to this short article / Q&A which states in question 2: Q2: What is the ...
368 views

### Creating a random password based off of a prime number

So I am making an application that basically creates strings that must be encrypted before they are stored on a user's device. If the user blindly starts running the application without creating a ...
2k views

### Any efficient text-based steganographic schemes?

While there are sophisticated and efficient steganographic schemes with images as cover available, I am yet ignorant of the existence of any fairly efficient and secure schemes with texts as cover. ...
210 views

### BER or DER X9.62 ECDSA signature

The signature format for ECDSA signatures can be encoded using ASN.1 integers according to X9.62 or it can comprise of two integers with the same size as the key size. In case the X9.62 format is ...
343 views

### Creating unique keys with md5

The project I'm working on requires me to find a way to create a unique key based on data stored in a table. The table in question consists of x columns and y rows. In order to create the key I want ...
842 views

### What do I use as the encryption key and initialization vector in AES cfb128

I'm writing a program that can encrypt a file using AES cfb128 (using Openssl and C++). The scenario of the program is this: Person A visits computer, encrypts a file they make, takes away a key ...
81 views

### Altering the message space of Paillier

Is there any obstacle if we restrict in Paillier the plaintext values to be drawn from $\mathbb{Z}_N^*$ instead of $\mathbb{Z}_N$ as the original scheme indicates.
135 views

### difference between soundness in ZKPoK and special soundness for sigma proofs

What is the difference between soundness in ZKPoK and special soundness for sigma proofs?
128 views

### Why is a Feistel network not a type of substitution-permutation network?

I understand what substitution-permutation networks look like. I understand what Feistel networks and Feistel-like networks look like. A Feistel network or a Feistel-like network features substitution ...
64 views

### Are there any noisy homomorphic encryption schemes?

Are there any Homomorphic Encryption(HE) schemes that result in noisy answers ? By noisy i mean , the answers could be approximately near the actual answers by noise factor $\epsilon$. For example , ...
150 views

### Removing “security by obscurity” from port knocking

Every article about port knocking, for instance https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Port_Knocking , declares this method as security by obscurity. Is the following enough to remove that title; a ...
214 views

### Why would an Initialization Vector be supplied externally?

My software uses a 3rd party encryption appliance. One of the capabilities they allow is for the client software to supply an IV while doing CBC encryption. Why would they not generate a random ...
5k views

### How to decrypt a '.enc' file that has been encrypted with RSA using a public key? [closed]

While solving a CTF challenge online, I came across a situation where I needed to decrypt a '.enc' file that has been encrypted using someone's public key. The ...
222 views

### New to cryptology, studying Message Authentication Codes

I understand the basic operational theory behind MAC, but I'm getting tripped up on some of the finer details. Also the differences between MAC, HMAC and MIC are getting lost on me, including the ...
1k views

### Decrypted RSA 64 bit encryption using modulus and private exponent. Got gobbledygook [Verify] [closed]

As part of an experiment, I was given a .enc RSA (encrypted) file that was most likely generated using openssl. I had the public key, I factored it, obtained the private exponent, and decrypted the ...
2k 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 ...
98 views

### Common reference string in NIZK

I want to ask that does the common reference string in NIZK have to be random? Or can it be anything?
83 views

### AES inversion operation in sub byes

I was wondering why in the AES sub-bytes operation one can represent the inversion as computing $x^{254}$. What is the reason for this? Moreoever, I was wondering what the text on page 212 of ...
558 views

### Toy public/private key example open to frequency analysis?

I've been looking at an online Public Key Encryption Example (summarized below). It seems to me that choosing cyphertext = plaintext^(key) mod n would produce the ...