Modern Cryptology

[kidd546]

Currently writing a paper on this topic, but I'm unsure of what to search for. I know many of you are computer programmers, so any tips on good codes/code-machines/ etc. for today's times? Hope this doesn't seem like i'm looking for you to do my homework for me, just wondering if anyone has some "key" words to look for. Thanks!

EDIT: Especially looking for good quotes, if anyone knows any famous modern cryptographers, their name would be much appreciated.

[VampiroXIII]

You chould try looking into certificates or public key infrastructure. You'll probably find some information as to how the data is encrypted around those areas.

[FenrisWulf]

Yeah. If you really want to get into all the details behind cryptography, here are a few important figures and ideas:

Information Theory (Claude Shannon): This was the first formal treatment of cryptography.

One time pad: Basically, you produce the cipher text by xoring the message with a secret key of the same bit length. Perfectly secure, but impractical to use, because if you can securely send a secret key that's as long as the message, why not just send the message itself? Also, the key can only be used once.

Pseudo-random Number Generators: Used to produce stream ciphers, which simulate a one time pad based on some smaller seed value.

RC4 (Rivest, 1987): Cipher for SSL (Secure Socket Layer).

Block Ciphers: Notably, DES (Data Encryption Standard) and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). They often use the concept of a Feistel network, conceived by Horst Feistel.

MAC: Message Authentication Code. Used to provide integrity for messages (beyond just privacy).

Diffie-Helman Protocol: Whitfield Diffie and Martin Helman developed a method of key exchange based on public values exponentiated by primes. The Discrete Log function is related; they're two problems that are hard to solve if you're missing a key part of the computation (ie, one of the secret keys). El Gamal is also someone to look at; he actually produced the algorithm using DH (in 1984). All of this leads towards RSA encryption. RSA: developed by Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Len Adleman, hence the name. I'm pretty sure this is used for SSH, though I'm a bit fuzzy on that part right now.

Digital Signatures: used to provide proof that a certain person generated some message.

That, plus the Certificates and Public Key Infrastructure that VampiroXIII, pretty much comprises all that I know about cryptography. :p Hope that it helps a bit.

[Deramhus]

Currently writing a paper on this topic, but I'm unsure of what to search for. I know many of you are computer programmers, so any tips on good codes/code-machines/ etc. for today's times? Hope this doesn't seem like i'm looking for you to do my homework for me, just wondering if anyone has some "key" words to look for. Thanks!

EDIT: Especially looking for good quotes, if anyone knows any famous modern cryptographers, their name would be much appreciated.

Man that is a tough paper to write on, I specialised in this subject in Uni. Pretty much what the 2 above said. Also write about the WWII **** code that was broken by a crew of people (and how they did it), one being Alan Turing who "invented" the modern day computer. There was a film made about it.

You could also go into the future of cryp. being quatom (sp?) cyrpt. That would be interesting ..... very interesting in fact.

And also the greatest tool in cyrptography in the past has been the rubber hose method. Tie someone to a chair and beat them with a rubber hose till they tell you what you want to know. thats why it's best to have 0 knowledge about what you are using to encrypt something, enter Diffie Hellman ..... you've already got me started.

Also, the one time pad was used during WWI. Someone would have a book and when sending a message they would encrypt it sequentially starting with the first letter of the book. They would then send it and the person recieving it would decrypt it using the same book (same edition of course). So you don't really send the key, just have a pre-defined key. Of course this was vunerable to the rubber hose method.

Anyway, good luck.

[Cygnus434]

As FenrisWulf said, definitely look into Claude Shannon.
*pulls out discrete mathematics text to look at names, terms*

Take a look at the modulous operator--a big key to cryptology.

Also take a look at the 3 creators of the RSA cryptosystem: Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman.

Ill look for some more later, gotta run to class...adios.

[kidd546]

Yeah, I already did the Enigma and the Japanese Purple Code- Just have to continue on into Cold War/Modern codes. Looks like there is lots of info, but very complex acronyms and mathematical meanings- hopefully I can make some sense of it!

[Cygnus434]

Yeah, I already did the Enigma and the Japanese Purple Code- Just have to continue on into Cold War/Modern codes. Looks like there is lots of info, but very complex acronyms and mathematical meanings- hopefully I can make some sense of it!

If you get stuck on some of the math, throw it up here and I'll see what I can come up with. I haven't taken a crypology course yet, but I plan to and it would be good practice for me anyways before I take the elective.

If anything, I can try and find some results from my discrete math book.

[Ev_]

Also take a look at the 3 creators of the RSA cryptosystem: Ronald Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman.
I took an algorithms class last Fall with Adleman. Very cool guy, and way too smart for his own good. Definitely look at the RSA system; it's one of the most widely used systems in the world.

[ScanMan]

Currently writing a paper on this topic, but I'm unsure of what to search for. I know many of you are computer programmers, so any tips on good codes/code-machines/ etc. for today's times? Hope this doesn't seem like i'm looking for you to do my homework for me, just wondering if anyone has some "key" words to look for. Thanks!

EDIT: Especially looking for good quotes, if anyone knows any famous modern cryptographers, their name would be much appreciated.

You may want to look into Phil Zimmerman and the controversy surrounding his "PGP" system. This is more of a political angle on cryptography rather than a technical one, but it is interesting to see how governments that support free speech react when citizens gain access to easy to use, relatively strong encryption.

[Stevinator]

All i have to say is,

3071 8 8097 0782 2987 34598 66893 234 546 0798 6870

[FenrisWulf]

@Deramhus:
Actually, to the best of my knowledge, the one time pad is still used---essentially with the same method (a key book)---within the US Navy and possibly other branches of the military. The perfect secrecy of the OTP makes the hassle of getting the books around pretty much worth it, if security is that important (which it would be, in military situations).

[Jimmeh]

Steganography is also a quite recent method of cryptography (electronic)

[Deramhus]

@Deramhus:
Actually, to the best of my knowledge, the one time pad is still used---essentially with the same method (a key book)---within the US Navy and possibly other branches of the military. The perfect secrecy of the OTP makes the hassle of getting the books around pretty much worth it, if security is that important (which it would be, in military situations).

true.

@scanman

thats a class story, and to the original poster don't be naive in the knowledge that the military didn't know how to crack "original" codes. There is storys (in relation to scanman) of people being threatend if they released certain algorithms.


And what about the time I would have been labeled a terrorist for downloading a certain few lines of code a few back.