Scribd
Upload
33 views4 pages

Introduction to Cryptology Concepts

Uploaded by

Near
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
33 views4 pages

Introduction to Cryptology Concepts

Uploaded by

Near
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Cryptology 4th August, 2015

Lecture 1: Introduction to Cryptology


Instructor: Dr. Goutam Paul Scribe: Laltu Sardar

1 Introduction
The word ”Crypto” came from Greek word ”κρυπτ oζ( krypts)” which means ”hidden or
secret”; and the word ”Graphy” came from ”γραφιν (graphein)” which means ”writing”.
That is Cryptography is art of secure writing. Crypto was first needed in ancient days
when sending message from one place to others secretly became necessary. Now the time
has been changed and crypto has been spread out in a lot of places.

1.1 Goals of Cryptography


In essence, cryptography concerns four main goals:

1. Privacy/Confidentiality

2. Integrity/ Message Authentication

3. Authentication/ Identification

4. Non-Repudiation

1.1.1 Privacy/Confidentiality
Privacy or message confidentiality tells that only an authorized recipient should be able to
extract the contents of the message from its encrypted form. It guarantees the protection
of transmitted data from passive attacks. Resulting from steps to hide, stop or delay free
access to the encrypted information.

1.1.2 Integrity / Message Authentication


Message integrity ensures that the information has not been altered by unauthorized or
unknown means. One must have the ability to detect data manipulation or change by
unauthorized parties.

1.1.3 Authentication/ Identification


Authentication i.e. sender authentication ensures that the recipient should be able to ver-
ify from the message, the identity of the sender, the origin or the path it travelled (or
combinations) so to validate claims from emitter or to validated the recipient expectations.

1-1
1.1.4 Non-Repudiation
Non-repudiation prevents either sender or receiver from denying a message. Thus, when a
message is sent, the receiver can prove that the message was in fact send by the alleged
sender. Similarly, when a message is received, the sender can prove the alleged receiver in
fact received that message.

In respect to the above goals there are solutions like Message Encryption, Authentication
Code, Identification Schema and Commitment Scheme respectively.

2 Cryptosystem
Definition 2.1 A cryptosystem S = (P, C, K, E, D) is five tuple where

P = Plaintext Space (finite set of all possible messages),


C = Ciphertext Space (finite set of all possible encrypted messages),
K = Keyspace(finite set of all possible keys),
E = {ek : P → C, k ∈ K} is the family of decryption functions,
D = {dk : P → C, k ∈ K} is the family of decryption functions and ∀x ∈ P, dk (ek (x)) = x.

2.1 Examples of Ciphers:


Let us start with some classical examples of cryptographic schemes in which both the sender
and the receiver agree upon a common key secretly before the actual communication starts.

2.1.1 Caesar Cipher:


This cryptographic scheme was discovered by Julius Caesar, used around 2000 years ago,
during war, To keep the messages secrete form the enemies or the messenger Julius Caesar
introduced a new method. Before going to the war front Julius Caesar and his generals
agreed upon a secret number, say 3, which is the key of the cryptosystem. When Julius
Caesar needed to send messages to the generals at the war front, he just cyclically shifted
every letter of the command or instruction by 3 positions to the right.
For example If we take the English upper case alphabets, we have altogether 26 letters.
So if we shift cyclically each letter of the English alphabets 3 times to the right, A will be
shifted to D, B will be shifted to E,. . . , X will be shifted to A, Y will be shifted to B and
finally, Z will be shifted to C.

Figure 1: Caesar Cipher with English alphabet with key k=3

1-2
Thus in his cryptosystem

P = {0, 1, . . . , 25}
C =P
K = {}/{3}
E = {e : P → C, where e(x) = x + 3 mod (26), ∀x ∈ P },
D = {d : C → P, where d(y) = y − 3 mod (26), ∀y ∈ C}

Now if we assume that an adversary only has a piece of cipher text along with the knowledge
that this cipher text is obtained by using shift cipher then, if the adversary tries try every
26 keys and he can see which key decrypts the cipher text into a plain text.

2.1.2 Shift Cipher:


Shift cipher is just a generalization of Caesar cipher. The only difference is that here key is
not fixed. So keyspace contains all 0, 1, . . . , 25 elements. In this cryptosystem:

P = {0, 1, . . . , 25}
C = P
K = {0, 1, ..., 25}
E = {ek : P → C, k ∈ K where ek (x) = x + k mod (26), ∀x ∈ P },
D = {dk : C → P, k ∈ K where dk (y) = y − k mod (26), ∀y ∈ C}

Here also if adversary tries only 26 keys then encrypted message can be decrypted.

2.1.3 Affine Cipher:


Thus looking at the weaknesses of previous cryptosystems it is obvious to have more strong
cryptosystems. Affine Cipher is just one step ahead to shift cipher. In this cryptosystem:

P = {0, 1, . . . , 25}
C = P
K = {(a, b) : a, b ∈ Z26 }
E = {ek : P → C, ek (x) = ax + b, ∀x ∈ P, where k = (a, b) ∈ (Z26 × Z26 )}
y−b
E = {dk : C → P, dk (y) = , ∀y ∈ C, where k = (a, b) ∈ (Z26 × Z26 )}
a

Since in this cryptosystem size of the keyspace is 262 adversary has to give more effort
to decrypt ciphertext.
It can seen here in decryption function dividing by a just not a normal division but a
modular division. So for any value of a ∈ Z26 , a−1 may not exist. For example for a = 4,

1-3
a−1 mod (26) does not exists. So there may be question that when inverse exists. For this
let’s go through the followings.

2.2 Extended Euclidean Algorithm


Let x, y ∈ Z and we are to find gcd(x, y). Let r0 = x and r1 = y. Then by Euclidean
Algorithm and successively applying the division algorithm, we have

r0 = r1 q1 + r2 , 0 < r2 < r1
r1 = r2 q2 + r3 , 0 < r3 < r2
...
rj−2 = rj−1 qj−1 + rj , 0 < rj < rj−1
...
rn−3 = rn−2 qn−2 + rn−1 , 0 < rn−1 < rn−2
rn−2 = rn−1 qn−1 + rn , 0 < rn < rn−1
rn−1 = rn qn + 0

Then rn = gcd(x, y).


Correctness: From the above equations if we go down to upward we will see rn | rn−1 , rn
| rn−2 , . . . , rn | r0 and rn | r1 . So rn is a common divisor of both x and y.
Let gcd(x, y) = h. Then we must have rn ≤ [Link] if we go up to downward we will see h |
r2 , h | r3 , . . . , h | rn . So h ≤ rn . Thus h = rn . So rn = gcd(x, y).

1-4

Common questions

Powered by AI

The keyspace of the Caesar cipher is limited to 26 possible shifts, one for each letter in the alphabet, making it highly susceptible to brute-force attacks . The Shift cipher expands the keyspace by allowing any shift between 0 and 25, still keeping it at 26 but with the advantage of non-fixed keys . The Affine cipher significantly increases the keyspace to 262 by combining multiplication and addition, dramatically enhancing security against brute-force attacks . A larger keyspace exponentially increases the difficulty for an attacker to decrypt a message by trying all possible keys, thus improving security.

The primary goals of cryptography are privacy/confidentiality, integrity/message authentication, authentication/identification, and non-repudiation. Privacy ensures only authorized recipients can read the message, protecting data from passive attacks . Integrity verifies the message has not been altered through unauthorized means . Authentication allows the recipient to verify the sender's identity and the message's origin . Non-repudiation prevents denial of sending or receiving a message, supporting proof of transaction between parties . Together, these goals ensure secure communication by protecting data, verifying identities, and establishing trust between communicating parties.

The Extended Euclidean Algorithm is significant in cryptography as it helps determine the greatest common divisor (gcd) of two numbers, providing a method to find modular inverses, which are crucial for decryption processes in certain cryptosystems like the Affine cipher . In systems requiring modular division, such as determining 'a^-1' for the Affine cipher, the algorithm provides a systematic approach to ensuring 'a' has an inverse, thus enabling successful decryption . By enabling efficient computation of gcd and subsequently modular inverses, it facilitates secure cryptographic processes where traditional division is not straightforward.

Ensuring both message confidentiality and integrity simultaneously in a cryptographic system involves integrating encryption and authentication methods effectively. Challenges include balancing the computational resources needed for both processes, ensuring one does not compromise the other . Encryption is designed to prevent unauthorized access, while message authentication checks for alterations in data. These goals can conflict, such as when encryption hides data, making it difficult to verify integrity without revealing confidential information. Secure systems must carefully implement layered protocols, combining cryptographic primitives to preserve both goals efficiently.

Modular arithmetic is fundamental in cryptographic systems as it allows operations to be constrained within a fixed set of integers, facilitating encryption and decryption processes. In ciphers like the Caesar, Shift, and Affine ciphers, modular arithmetic defines how letters are shifted within the alphabetic bounds without exceeding them, ensuring consistent results through cyclic shifts . It provides a mathematical framework critical for operations such as key wrapping and division in cryptosystems, ensuring message transformations remain reversible only with the correct keys or inverse operations.

The Affine cipher improves upon the Caesar and Shift ciphers by utilizing a more complex encryption function that involves both multiplication and addition, represented as ek(x) = ax + b, where k = (a, b). This increases the keyspace to 262, making brute-force attacks more difficult . A challenge it presents is the requirement for 'a' to be coprime with the size of the alphabet (26), as not all values will have a modular inverse, essential for decryption . This constraint adds complexity to key selection and system security.

The Caesar cipher is an example of symmetric key cryptography as it uses a single secret key, known between the sender and receiver, to both encrypt and decrypt messages. In this system, both parties agree on a secret number used to shift the letters of the message cyclically . Its main limitation is its vulnerability to brute-force attacks due to the small keyspace. Since the key space is limited to 26 possible shifts, an adversary can easily try all possibilities to decrypt the message . This exposure to simple attacks highlights the need for more complex cryptographic systems.

Message integrity is maintained in cryptographic systems through mechanisms like hash functions and message authentication codes that authenticate the data's originality and detect any alterations by unauthorized entities . It is crucial for secure communication because it ensures that the data received is the same as the data sent, safeguarding against tampering and fraud . By verifying that a message has not been altered, integrity measures maintain trust and reliability in communications and transactions.

Mechanisms that prevent unauthorized data access in cryptography include encryption techniques, such as message encryption schemes and secure key management. These mechanisms transform data into non-readable formats for unauthorized users by using algorithms and keys that only authorized parties possess . Implementations include symmetric encryption, where the same key is used for both encryption and decryption, and asymmetric encryption, where a public key encrypts and a private key decrypts data. These methods ensure that data remains confidential and accessible only to those with requisite permissions.

Non-repudiation in digital communication ensures that neither the sender nor receiver can deny having sent or received a message. It supports accountability by providing proof that a transaction occurred between parties, which is essential in legal and commercial contexts . Non-repudiation mechanisms typically involve digital signatures or cryptographic proofs that serve as evidence of participation in the communication. This feature is crucial in disputes, ensuring that both parties can be held responsible based on the documented digital interaction.

You might also like