# All Questions

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### constructing QR-like one way function

I am wondering whether the following form is a one way function with collision resistance: $$ax^2+by^2 \mod p$$ where $a$ and $b$ are given, and $p$ is a prime number. Since the QR (quadratic ...
165 views

### Securely generating passwords based on a secret and a public identifier

I'm trying to create a good scheme for generating passwords in my systems management scripts. What I'd like to do is have a secret key (let's say hello123), which I ...
444 views

### Given a message and signature, find a public key that makes the signature valid

Given a message $M$ and a signature $S$, is it feasible to find a RSA public key $(n,e)$ such that $S$ verifies as a valid signature on $M$ (using this public key)? What if we're given one public key ...
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How does padding in PMAC work? I have been told two stories: Firstly, I have been told that it works similar to CMAC padding, and secondly, I have been told that it does not need padding. I find the ...
459 views

### What does NSA mean by 'Analyzable'?

Recently NSA published two new algorithms, Simon and Speck. In the abstract they say The aim of SIMON and SPECK is to fill the need for secure, flexible, and analyzable lightweight block ciphers. ...
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### Are stream ciphers no longer considered by NIST?

While reading NIST SP 800-90A, "Recommendation for Random Number Generation Using Deterministic Random Bit Generators", I noted that no stream cipher was included among the various specified ...
633 views

### Master keys for decrypting?

I'm not a Cryptography expert, but i've seen this topic sometimes on the Web: Master decrypt keys. Most of the people said that "Master decrypt key" does not exist. This makes sense if you developed ...
1k views

### Windows 8/Server 2012: Passes FIPS-140-2 despite failing AES-GCM for IV != 96 bits long?

Background Microsoft certifies Windows 7/8 as well as Server 2008 R2 and 2012 to be FIPS-140-2 compliant. Actually they certify just a small crypto core, bcrypt.dll (the library, which is unrelated ...
178 views

### Integer factorization via geometric mean problem

presume: we have A and B integers, and C - product of multiplication of A and B, A and B are prime numbers (strong or usual) G - is geometric mean of A and B (square root of C) also, we have: if B > ...
158 views

### Tor's integrity verification system?

I am trying to understand the design of Tor(onion router). I am reading the original paper on the 2nd generation onion routing system. Where, under integrity checking on streams, they say, "When Alice ...
540 views

### Diffie-Hellman key agreement with both Server Authentication and Perfect Forward Secrecy

I am trying to find the protocol with the least overhead, which still meets the following requirements: Server Authentication of server identity to client. The client has an authentic copy of the ...
103 views

### What type of groups does Microsoft's U-Prove use (Schnorr… etc?)

I'm trying to learn more about the Subgroups implementation of Microsoft UProve. I'm unsure if they are Schnorr Groups or use a different foundation? Can anyone point me to the technical reading ...
467 views

### Formal definition of (perfect) forward security/secrecy

In recent weeks the concept of (perfect) forward security/secrecy has been mentioned a lot, primarily in the context of the shocking revelations about NSA eavesdropping. As far as I'm aware, this ...
240 views

### inverse problem about scalar multiplication on elliptic curve

Let $E$ be an elliptic curve over a finite field $F_p$. Given $n$ be a positive integer and $Q$ be a point on $E$, assume that $Q=nP$, how can we find this $P$? We can assume that $n|p-1$. If $n$ is ...
126 views

### Designing a protocol to record attendance to lectures

Scenario: a class that is not mandatory. The teacher wants a protocol that will satisfy the following requirements: It must record each student's attendance. A student X should not be able to say ...
292 views

For a stream of packets, where each packet is individually encrypted with a block cipher, it's desirable to have each encrypted packet only valid for that position in the stream. A message number ...
99 views

### Signing an integer, which may be increased

I have a 64 bit integer. It has some sort of signature so that one can be sure it is valid. Anyone may increase the integer, update the signature, and remove all trace of the old signature. But it is ...
785 views

### ECDSA Compressed public key point back to uncompressed public key point

From the ECDH demo here http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~tjw/jsbn/ecdh.html If I generate a private key for alice I can get ...
116 views

### Is Triple-DES a group?

I know for a fact that DES is not a group, but are any of the Triple-Des versions a group? Why, or why not?
132 views

### Offline app authentication - embedding hashed password inside an encrypted file

I am working on an occasionally connected app. To allow the users to authenticate I created a profile which is encrypted and placed on the users machine. The first byte of the file contains the IV ...
115 views

### How to build a secure AE scheme with generic composition?

I am actually looking for using a secure Encrypt-Then-MAC AE scheme , and consider using either an existing "ready-to-use" dedicated AEAD mode (GCM, OCB, CCM, EAX, etc ..) or an alternate composed ...
88 views

### Rating a steganographic system using Blum Blum Shub to locate hidden bits

Currently I'm building a toy steganography system based in a web browser. Besides all the obvious issues with building a system requiring extreme privacy into a browser (this is a toy!), I was curious ...
141 views

### What should the size of the private exponents in Diffie-Hellman key exchange for TLS be? [duplicate]

I'm using TLS with a Diffie-Hellman key exchange to negotiate the symmetric keys. How long should the exponents be?
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### Does EAX use the same keys for encryption and authentication?

I am actually checking use of EAX AEAD mode, and following EAX spec review (scheme definition for my part), my question is: what about the derivation of the authentication and encryption keys? In the ...
307 views

### Why are elliptic curves better than cyclic groups?

The set of points of an elliptic curve over a finite field is isomorphic to the direct product of two cyclic groups (i.e. $E(F_{p^n}) \cong Z_{s} \times Z_{t})$. What is the advantage of representing ...
616 views

### Simple protocol for 1-out-of-2 oblivious transfer

I'm trying to explain the concept of 1-out-of-2 oblivious transfer to folks who haven't seen this idea before. I can explain what properties it provides, but it's also helpful if I can show a simple ...
3k views

### Finding a keylength in a repeating key XOR cipher

In an old cryptography FAQ, I found the following step described for determining a the length of the key a cipher was repeatedly XORed against: Discover the length of the key by counting ...
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### What is meant by this notation in the ElGamal key generation process?

Alice chooses i) A large prime $p_A$ (say 200 to 300 digits) ii) A primitive element $\alpha_A$ modulo $p_A$, iii) A (possibly random) integer $d_A$ with $2 \le d_A \le p_A-2$. Alice ...
600 views

### uniqueness of the RSA public modulus

What is the probability that two separate RSA public moduli are the same? For example, consider a 2048-bit modulus. The number seems to be huge, but the choice for prime factors p and q is much more ...
964 views

### Encrypt a file once with 50 characters password or twice with 25 characters?

What better Encrypt the file once with 50 characters password or encrypt it twice each time with 25 characters password.
334 views

### Non-malleable file encryption using AES XTS 256?

I'm looking to do file encryption of a bunch of individual files, some small, some quite large. The files will be write-once/read-many, so I could use CBC, however, since the read-access needs to ...