Category Archives: Cryptography

GCHQ launches cryptography app for budding codebreakers

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GCHQ director Robert Hannigan explained the famously private agencys involvement in the public initiative: Building maths and cyber skills in the younger generation is essential for maintaining the cyber security of the UK and growing a vibrant digital economy. That is why I am keen for GCHQ to give something back through its work with school and universities.

Originally designed by students on an industrial placement at GCHQ, the interactive app is aimed primarily at Key Stage 4 students in the UK, aged between 14 and 16 years old, and comes as part of government efforts to encourage more children to study STEM subjects science, technology, engineering and maths at GCSE level and beyond.

Speaking at the launch of the app on the third anniversary of the UK Cyber Security Strategy, Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude MP drew parallels between the new app and the cryptic crosswords placed by the government in The Daily Telegraph to recruit code breakers during World War Two.

Im pleased to announce a similarly creative solution in the hunt for expertise, but with a 21st century spin, he said.

The fun and educational app is now available to download from Google Play or through the GCHQ website. It is understood, however, that schools reliant on iPads will have to wait until next year for the release of an Apple-friendly version.

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GCHQ launches cryptography app for budding codebreakers

GCHQ has made an Android app — but it won’t to spy on you

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Cryptoy

GCHQ has released its own "fun, free, educational" Android app to teach secondary school students about cryptography.

The Cryptoy app, which has no permissions to access confidential information on Android devices, helps children understand basic encryption techniques and create their own encoded messages.

The government hopes the app could help find the next generation of cyber-spies. Minister for the cabinet office Francis Maude said that it was a "creative solution in the hunt for expertise, but with a 21st century spin".

Cryptoy is only available on Android at the moment, but an iOS version for iPads will be available in 2015, GCHQ said. It is aimed at Key Stage 4 students and covers both the theory and practice of cryptography as well its history.

The idea was first developed by GCHQ's industrial placement students as a test project for the Cheltenham Science Festival but growing interest from teachers to use the app in schools persuaded GCHQ to make it publicly available. The spy-agency said examples of cryptography used in the app are from an "earlier era" but were still relevant to today's techniques.

"Building maths and cyber skills in the younger generation is essential for maintaining the cyber security of the UK and growing a vibrant digital economy," said GCHQ director Robert Hannigan.

He described Cryptoy as a "colourful, interactive way" for students and teachers to explore cryptography. The app is compatible with Android 4.1 and up and is available to download now.

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GCHQ has made an Android app -- but it won't to spy on you

GCHQ launches crypto app for the kids

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GOVERNMENT SPOOK AGENCY GCHQ has released a cryptography game for kids in an attempt to boost science, technology, engineering and maths skills.

The government, and a lot of other people, are all about the so-called STEM skills, and we have already seen the Raspberry Pi Foundation make a spacy stand on it.

Now it is the turn of GCHQ, which in itself is following a government pattern of pre-teen prep practice.

GCHQ told us that it is releasing Cryptoy to the application stores on the third anniversary of the government's National Cyber Security Strategy.

The title is pitched at secondary students and their teachers, and offers an insight into encryption and cryptography.

This is not the first effort from the agency, and is unlikely to be its last. It has an interest in cryptography, and an interest in having a pool of skilled workers coming out of the education system.

"Building maths and cyber skills in the younger generation is essential for maintaining the cyber security of the UK and growing a vibrant digital economy," said GCHQ director Robert Hannigan.

"That is why I am keen for GCHQ to give something back through its work with school and universities.

"The app was developed by GCHQ's industrial placement students and trialled at a number of science fairs.

"I hope it will inspire further study of this key topic, which has played such an important part in our past and is an invaluable part of our future."

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GCHQ launches crypto app for the kids

Electron pairs on demand

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In quantum optics, generating entangled and spatially separated photon pairs (e.g. for quantum cryptography) is already a reality. So far, it has, however, not been possible to demonstrate an analogous generation and spatial separation of entangled electron pairs in solids.

Physicists from Leibniz University Hannover and from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have now taken a decisive step in this direction.

They have demonstrated for the first time the on-demand emission of electron pairs from a semiconductor quantum dot and verified their subsequent splitting into two separate conductors. Their results have been published in the current online issue of the renowned journal "Nature Nanotechnology".

A precise control and manipulation of quantum-mechanical states could pave the way for promising applications such as quantum computers and quantum cryptography. In quantum optics, such experiments have already been performed for some time.

This, for example, allows the controlled generation of pairs of entangled, but spatially separated photons, which are of essential importance for quantum cryptography.

An analogous generation and spatial separation of entangled electrons in solids would be of fundamental importance for future applications, but could not be demonstrated yet. The results from Hannover and Braunschweig are a decisive step in this direction.

As an electron source, the physicists from Leibniz University Hannover and from PTB used so-called semiconductor single-electron pumps.

Controlled by voltage pulses, these devices emit a defined number of electrons. The single-electron pump was operated in such a way that it released exactly one electron pair per pulse into a semiconducting channel.

A semitransparent electronic barrier divides the channel into two electrically distinct areas. A correlation measurement then recorded whether the electron pairs traversed the barrier, or whether they were reflected or split by the barrier.

It could be shown that for suitable parameters, more than 90 % of the electron pairs were split and spatially separated by the barrier. This is an important step towards the envisioned generation and separation of entangled electron pairs in semiconductor components.

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Electron pairs on demand

Quantum teleportation breakthrough as researchers send photon of light 15.5 MILES

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Breakthroughhas implications for cryptography Could also boost communications between Earth and spacecraft

By Mark Prigg for MailOnline

Published: 17:44 EST, 10 December 2014 | Updated: 18:06 EST, 10 December 2014

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It may not lead to Star Trek teleportation, but researchers have revealed a major breakthrough in quantum teleportation.

Researchers succeeded in teleporting information about the quantum state of a photon, a particle of light, over 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) of optical fiber to a crystal 'memory bank,' setting a new record of distance traveled in this manner.

The research could have implications for cryptography, which involves transmitting information securely, including communications between Earth and spacecraft.

This image shows crystals used for storing entangled photons, which behave as though they are part of the same whole. Scientists used these crystals in their process of teleporting the state of a photon across more than 15 miles (25 kilometers) of optical fiber.

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Quantum teleportation breakthrough as researchers send photon of light 15.5 MILES

Cryptography

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4/8/2010

Cryptography provides a way to distribute or receive information in secret code, so only the intended parties can read or send it. Cryptography in Windows Embedded CE-based devices includes the Cryptography API set (CryptoAPI), which provides services that enable application developers to add encryption and decryption of data. Application developers can use CryptoAPI without knowing details of the underlying implementation, in much the same way as they can use a graphics library without knowing anything about the particular graphics hardware settings. CryptoAPI works with a number of Cryptographic Service Providers that perform the actual cryptographic functions.

CryptoAPI supports both public key infrastructure (PKI) and symmetric key cryptography.

Provides an overview of the modules and components that implement cryptography in Windows Embedded CE, and the sysgen variables that enable this functionality.

Provides an overview of the Microsoft Cryptographic System and describes how to use cryptography services in Windows Embedded CE.

Provides security information about cryptography in Windows Embedded CE and best practices for implementation.

Describes the registry settings that are necessary to configure this functionality in your device

Provides information that you need to know to migrate this functionality from one version of Windows Embedded CE to another.

Provides examples that use cryptography concepts and programming elements in applications.

Describes of cryptography programming elements.

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Cryptography