Category Archives: Cryptography

Cryptography – From Black Art to Popular Science (CSCAN | PlymUniInfoSec) – Video

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Cryptography - From Black Art to Popular Science (CSCAN | PlymUniInfoSec)
Prof. Fred Piper looks at some of the significant changes that have taken place in cryptography since the Second World War. The discussion concentrates upon ...

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Cryptography - From Black Art to Popular Science (CSCAN | PlymUniInfoSec) - Video

How to Convert a Negative Integer in Modular Arithmetic – Cryptography – Lesson 4 – Video

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How to Convert a Negative Integer in Modular Arithmetic - Cryptography - Lesson 4
In this video, I explain how to convert a negative integer to a congruent integer within a given modulo. Donate - http://bit.ly/19AHMvX.

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How to Convert a Negative Integer in Modular Arithmetic - Cryptography - Lesson 4 - Video

Web Development: Purdue CGT 356 Assign07 Cryptography, Encryption, and Ajax in PHP – Video

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Web Development: Purdue CGT 356 Assign07 Cryptography, Encryption, and Ajax in PHP
This video demonstration shows how to use encryption and some ajax with PHP. Course and content created by Ronald J. Glotzbach. Ronald is an Associate Profes...

By: Ronald Glotzbach

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Web Development: Purdue CGT 356 Assign07 Cryptography, Encryption, and Ajax in PHP - Video

Smartphones set out to decipher a cryptographic system

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13 hours ago by Sbastien Corthsy Ramasany Gowthami. Credit: Alain Herzog / EPFL 2014

While carrying out her master thesis on computer science, Ramasany Gowthami participated in the creation of an Android app by means of which users get together to crack a modern cryptographic code.

Modern cryptography is not infallible. All encryption types, among which we can find the widely used RSA, can theoretically be broken. If so, how to ensure that our data remains protected? The answer lies on the time and computational effort required to break the code. Cracking a sufficiently long encryption key can be expensive up to the point of being unattainable in practice.

The LACAL laboratory at EPFL, renowned for its many achievements in the field of cryptography and led by Arjen Lenstra, was interested in solving a problem based on elliptic curve cryptography developed in the early 1980s. After having thwarted the security of our passwords by using a network of 300 PlayStation 3 game consoles, the researchers decided to take on this new challenge, on this occasion by using thousands of smartphones working together. "All of us do not necessarily have a computer for running the algorithm, making it difficult to gather a few dozen. On the other hand, everyone has a smartphone, and launching the application becomes a child's game!" said Ramasany Gowthami, a master student in computer science that participated on the project. By running the algorithm a very large number of times the code may be broken eventually. To do this, users simply launch the application and press a button. The app also allows users to register, form teams, view their statistics and thus measure their participation in this unprecedented undertaking.

Despite her apprehension about the mathematical part of the project, Ramasany Gowthami does not regret having plunged into this domain for her master's thesis. She acknowledges that the part of the implementation of which she was in charge required long working weeks to get to understand the whole project. "Since I was in charge of the interface between the program's components, I had to have a perfect knowledge of the elements of the algorithm," she explains. "What is my best memory? When I managed to put it all in my head and was able to grasp the entire project! ".

Why this desire to crack an unbroken cryptographic system at all costs? "It's just as important as designing new and more efficient systems," she explained. "We know that the systems can be broken at some point. That's why it is important to constantly assess them in order to know their limitations and adapt them if they are no longer safe. This can be done, for example, by extending the length of the encryption key. Perhaps a similar evaluation work on the SSL would have prevented the (in) famous Heartbleed bug!"

Explore further: New type of cryptography that can better resist "dictionary attacks"

Cryptographers in China have have developed a new type of cryptography that can better resist so-called offline "dictionary attacks", denial of service (DoS) hacks, and cracks involving eavesdroppers. Their approach, reported ...

(Phys.org) A protocol based on "discrete logarithms", deemed as one of the candidates for the Internet's future security systems, was decrypted by EPFL researchers. Allegedly tamper-proof, it could only ...

Fujitsu Laboratories, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology and Kyushu University jointly broke a world cryptography record with the successful cryptanalysis of a 278-digit (923-bit)-long ...

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Smartphones set out to decipher a cryptographic system

How to use OpenPGP to encrypt your email messages and files in the cloud

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Putting sensitive data in email messages or cloud storage should give you the heebie-jeebies, but a good dose of cryptography can give you peace of mind. Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) or its open-source implementation, OpenPGP, is the gold standard of encryption online, and when used properly, has the potential to thwart even the likes of the NSA.

Encryption solutions like BitLocker and DiskCryptordont secure email messages or files in the cloud. OpenPGP's industrial-strength encryption can ensure secure delivery of files and messages, as well as provide verification of who created or sent the message using a process called digital signing.

Using OpenPGP for communication requires participation by both the sender and recipient. You can also use OpenPGP to secure sensitive files when theyre stored in vulnerable places like mobile devices or in the cloud.

The trade-off for all this protection is that it's a little more complicated to use. Follow these steps to get started.

The OpenPGP-compatible Windows program well use is gpg4win (GNU Privacy Guard for Windows).

First, download and run the setup program. When prompted for which components youd like to install, include the GPA (GNU Privacy Assistant) component in addition to others that are chosen by default. GPA is the program I recommend for managing your encryption keys, which I also cover in this article.

Youll need to install gpg4win on all the computers you think youll have to encrypt or decrypt your files on.

If you plan to use the encryption on your mobile devices, consider downloading the APG app for Android or the oPenGP app for iOS.

To use OpenPGP, you have to generate at least two keys: a public key and a private key. Keys are just very small files containing encrypted text. Your public key can be handed out to anyone to send you an encrypted message or file. Your private key is passphrase-protected, and is required to decrypt the message or file.

The name you choose will be displayed on the certificate key. If you'd like more anonymity, consider creating another key pair with a fake name and email address.

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How to use OpenPGP to encrypt your email messages and files in the cloud