10/3/2017 Encryption - Wikipedia

Encryption
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding a message or information in such a way that only
authorized parties can access it. Encryption does not itself prevent interference, but denies the intelligible content
to a would-be interceptor. In an encryption scheme, the intended information or message, referred to as plaintext, is
encrypted using an encryption algorithm a cipher generating ciphertext that can only be read if decrypted. For
technical reasons, an encryption scheme usually uses a pseudo-random encryption key generated by an algorithm.
It is in principle possible to decrypt the message without possessing the key, but, for a well-designed encryption
scheme, considerable computational resources and skills are required. An authorized recipient can easily decrypt
the message with the key provided by the originator to recipients but not to unauthorized users.

Contents
1 Types
1.1 Symmetric key / Private key
1.2 Public key
2 Uses
2.1 Message verification
2.2 Data erasure
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading

Types
Symmetric key / Private key

In symmetric-key schemes,[1] the encryption and decryption keys are the same. Communicating parties must have
the same key before they can achieve secure communication.

Public key

In public-key encryption schemes, the encryption key is published for

anyone to use and encrypt messages. However, only the receiving party has
access to the decryption key that enables messages to be read.[2] Public-key
encryption was first described in a secret document in 1973;[3] before then
all encryption schemes were symmetric-key (also called private-key).[4]:478
Illustration of how encryption is used
A publicly available public key encryption application called Pretty Good
within servers Public key encryption.
Privacy (PGP) was written in 1991 by Phil Zimmermann, and distributed
free of charge with source code; it was purchased by Symantec in 2010 and
is regularly updated.[5]

Uses

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Encryption has long been used by militaries and governments to facilitate secret communication. It is now
commonly used in protecting information within many kinds of civilian systems. For example, the Computer
Security Institute reported that in 2007, 71% of companies surveyed utilized encryption for some of their data in
transit, and 53% utilized encryption for some of their data in storage.[6] Encryption can be used to protect data "at
rest", such as information stored on computers and storage devices (e.g. USB flash drives). In recent years, there
have been numerous reports of confidential data, such as customers' personal records, being exposed through loss
or theft of laptops or backup drives. Encrypting such files at rest helps protect them should physical security
measures fail. Digital rights management systems, which prevent unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted
material and protect software against reverse engineering (see also copy protection), is another somewhat different
example of using encryption on data at rest.[7]

In response to encryption of data at rest, cyber-adversaries have developed new types of attacks. These more recent
threats to encryption of data at rest include cryptographic attacks,[8] stolen ciphertext attacks,[9] attacks on
encryption keys,[10] insider attacks, data corruption or integrity attacks,[11] data destruction attacks, and
ransomware attacks. Data fragmentation[12] and active defense[13] data protection technologies attempt to counter
some of these attacks, by distributing, moving, or mutating ciphertext so it is more difficult to identify, steal,
corrupt, or destroy.[14]

Encryption is also used to protect data in transit, for example data being transferred via networks (e.g. the Internet,
e-commerce), mobile telephones, wireless microphones, wireless intercom systems, Bluetooth devices and bank
automatic teller machines. There have been numerous reports of data in transit being intercepted in recent years.[15]
Data should also be encrypted when transmitted across networks in order to protect against eavesdropping of
network traffic by unauthorized users.[16]

Message verification

Encryption, by itself, can protect the confidentiality of messages, but other techniques are still needed to protect the
integrity and authenticity of a message; for example, verification of a message authentication code (MAC) or a
digital signature. Standards for cryptographic software and hardware to perform encryption are widely available,
but successfully using encryption to ensure security may be a challenging problem. A single error in system design
or execution can allow successful attacks. Sometimes an adversary can obtain unencrypted information without
directly undoing the encryption. See, e.g., traffic analysis, TEMPEST, or Trojan horse.[17]

Digital signature and encryption must be applied to the ciphertext when it is created (typically on the same device
used to compose the message) to avoid tampering; otherwise any node between the sender and the encryption agent
could potentially tamper with it. Encrypting at the time of creation is only secure if the encryption device itself has
not been tampered with.

Data erasure

Conventional methods for deleting data permanently from a storage device involve overwriting its whole content
with zeros, ones or other patters a process which can take a significant amount of time, depending on the capacity
and the type of the medium. Cryptography offers a way of making the erasure almost instantaneous, as long as all
data on a device is encrypted and the key is stored on the same device. Although this setup on its own does not
offer any protection in case an unauthorised person gains physical access to the device, it means that all
information on it can be made inaccessible by erasing only the key. An example implementation of this method can
be found on iOS devices, where the cryptographic key is kept in a dedicated 'Effaceable Storage'.[18]

See also

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Substitution cipher
Rotor cipher machines
Brute-force attack
Cold boot attack
Export of cryptography
Cyberspace Electronic Security Act (in the US)
Disk encryption
Key management
Physical Layer Encryption
Geo-Blocking
Television encryption
Active defense

References

1. Symmetric-key encryption software (http://iaktueller.de/Collatz.py)

2. Bellare, Mihir. "Public-Key Encryption in a Multi-user Setting: Security Proofs and Improvements."
Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2000. Page 1.
3. "Public-Key Encryption - how GCHQ got there first!" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100519084635/http://
www.gchq.gov.uk/history/pke.html). gchq.gov.uk. Archived from the original (http://www.gchq.gov.uk/histo
ry/pke.html) on May 19, 2010.
4. Goldreich, Oded. Foundations of Cryptography: Volume 2, Basic Applications. Vol. 2. Cambridge university
press, 2004.
5. "Symantec buys encryption specialist PGP for $300M" (http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9176121/S
ymantec_buys_encryption_specialist_PGP_for_300M). Computerworld. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
6. Robert Richardson, 2008 CSI Computer Crime and Security Survey at 19.i.cmpnet.com (http://i.cmpnet.co
m/v2.gocsi.com/pdf/CSIsurvey2008.pdf)
7. "DRM" (https://www.eff.org/issues/drm). Electronic Frontier Foundation.
8. Yan Li, Nakul Sanjay Dhotre, Yasuhiro Ohara, Thomas M. Kroeger, Ethan L. Miller, Darrell D. E. Long.
"Horus: Fine-Grained Encryption-Based Security for Large-Scale Storage" (http://www.ssrc.ucsc.edu/Paper
s/li-fast13.pdf) (PDF). www.ssrc.ucsc.edu. Discussion of encryption weaknesses for petabyte scale datasets.
9. "The Padding Oracle Attack - why crypto is terrifying" (http://robertheaton.com/2013/07/29/padding-oracle-
attack/). Robert Heaton. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
10. "Researchers crack open unusually advanced malware that hid for 5 years" (https://arstechnica.com/security/
2016/08/researchers-crack-open-unusually-advanced-malware-that-hid-for-5-years/). Ars Technica.
Retrieved 2016-12-25.
11. "New cloud attack takes full control of virtual machines with little effort" (https://arstechnica.com/security/2
016/08/new-attack-steals-private-crypto-keys-by-corrupting-data-in-computer-memory/). Ars Technica.
Retrieved 2016-12-25.
12. Examples of data fragmentation technologies include Tahoe-LAFS and Storj (https://storj.io/index.html).
13. Burshteyn, Mike (2016-12-22). "What does Active Defense mean?" (https://blog.cryptomove.com/what-do
es-active-defense-mean-4ecff93c4bc4). CryptoMove. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
14. CryptoMove (https://www.cryptomove.com) is the first technology to continuously move, mutate, and re-
encrypt ciphertext as a form of data protection.
15. Fiber Optic Networks Vulnerable to Attack, Information Security Magazine, November 15, 2006, Sandra
Kay Miller
16. "Data Encryption in Transit Guideline" (https://security.berkeley.edu/content/data-encryption-transit-guidelin
e).
17. "What is a Trojan Virus - Malware Protection - Kaspersky Lab US" (http://usa.kaspersky.com/internet-securi
ty-center/threats/trojans#.VV3oaWDTvfY).
18. iOS Security Guide (https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf)

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Further reading
Fouch Gaines, Helen (1939), Cryptanalysis: A Study of Ciphers and Their Solution, New York: Dover
Publications Inc, ISBN 978-0486200972
Kahn, David, The Codebreakers - The Story of Secret Writing (ISBN 0-684-83130-9) (1967)
Preneel, Bart, "Advances in Cryptology EUROCRYPT 2000", Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2000,
ISBN 978-3-540-67517-4
Sinkov, Abraham, Elementary Cryptanalysis: A Mathematical Approach, Mathematical Association of
America, 1966. ISBN 0-88385-622-0

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