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Key Distribution
In symmetric key cryptography, both parties must possess a secret key which they must exchange prior to using any encryption. Distribution of secret keys has been problematic until recently, because it involved face-to-face meeting, use of a trusted courier, or sending the key through an existing encryption channel. The first two are often impractical and always unsafe, while the third depends on the security of a previous key exchange. In public key cryptography, the key distribution of public keys is done through public key servers. When a person creates a key-pair, they keep one key private and the other, known as the ''public-key'', is uploaded to a server where it can be accessed by anyone to send the user a private, encrypted, message. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) uses Diffie–Hellman key exchange if the client does not have a public-private key pair and a published certificate in the public key infrastructure, and Public Key Cryptography if the user does have both the ke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symmetric Key Cryptography
Symmetric-key algorithms are algorithms for cryptography that use the same cryptographic keys for both the encryption of plaintext and the decryption of ciphertext. The keys may be identical, or there may be a simple transformation to go between the two keys. The keys, in practice, represent a shared secret between two or more parties that can be used to maintain a private information link. The requirement that both parties have access to the secret key is one of the main drawbacks of symmetric-key encryption, in comparison to public-key encryption (also known as asymmetric-key encryption). However, symmetric-key encryption algorithms are usually better for bulk encryption. They have a smaller key size, which means less storage space and faster transmission. Due to this, asymmetric-key encryption is often used to exchange the secret key for symmetric-key encryption. Types Symmetric-key encryption can use either stream ciphers or block ciphers. * Stream ciphers encrypt the digits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Key Cryptography
Public-key cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, is the field of cryptographic systems that use pairs of related keys. Each key pair consists of a public key and a corresponding private key. Key pairs are generated with cryptographic algorithms based on mathematical problems termed one-way functions. Security of public-key cryptography depends on keeping the private key secret; the public key can be openly distributed without compromising security. In a public-key encryption system, anyone with a public key can encrypt a message, yielding a ciphertext, but only those who know the corresponding private key can decrypt the ciphertext to obtain the original message. For example, a journalist can publish the public key of an encryption key pair on a web site so that sources can send secret messages to the news organization in ciphertext. Only the journalist who knows the corresponding private key can decrypt the ciphertexts to obtain the sources' messages—an eavesdropp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Key (cryptography)
A key in cryptography is a piece of information, usually a string of numbers or letters that are stored in a file, which, when processed through a cryptographic algorithm, can encode or decode cryptographic data. Based on the used method, the key can be different sizes and varieties, but in all cases, the strength of the encryption relies on the security of the key being maintained. A key’s security strength is dependent on its algorithm, the size of the key, the generation of the key, and the process of key exchange. Scope The key is what is used to encrypt data from plaintext to ciphertext. There are different methods for utilizing keys and encryption. Symmetric cryptography Symmetric cryptography refers to the practice of the same key being used for both encryption and decryption. Asymmetric cryptography Asymmetric cryptography has separate keys for encrypting and decrypting. These keys are known as the public and private keys, respectively. Purpose Since the key pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Key Server (cryptographic)
In computer security, a key server is a computer that receives and then serves existing cryptographic keys to users or other programs. The users' programs can be running on the same network as the key server or on another networked computer. The keys distributed by the key server are almost always provided as part of a cryptographically protected public key certificates containing not only the key but also 'entity' information about the owner of the key. The certificate is usually in a standard format, such as the OpenPGP public key format, the X.509 certificate format, or the PKCS format. Further, the key is almost always a public key for use with an asymmetric key encryption algorithm. History Key servers play an important role in public key cryptography. In public key cryptography an individual is able to generate a key pair, where one of the keys is kept private while the other is distributed publicly. Knowledge of the public key does not compromise the security of public ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secure Sockets Layer
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network. The protocol is widely used in applications such as email, instant messaging, and voice over IP, but its use in securing HTTPS remains the most publicly visible. The TLS protocol aims primarily to provide security, including privacy (confidentiality), integrity, and authenticity through the use of cryptography, such as the use of certificates, between two or more communicating computer applications. It runs in the presentation layer and is itself composed of two layers: the TLS record and the TLS handshake protocols. The closely related Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) is a communications protocol providing security to datagram-based applications. In technical writing you often you will see references to (D)TLS when it applies to both versions. TLS is a proposed Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard, first defined in 1999, and the cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diffie–Hellman Key Exchange
Diffie–Hellman key exchangeSynonyms of Diffie–Hellman key exchange include: * Diffie–Hellman–Merkle key exchange * Diffie–Hellman key agreement * Diffie–Hellman key establishment * Diffie–Hellman key negotiation * Exponential key exchange * Diffie–Hellman protocol * Diffie–Hellman handshake is a mathematical method of securely exchanging cryptographic keys over a public channel and was one of the first public-key protocols as conceived by Ralph Merkle and named after Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman. DH is one of the earliest practical examples of public key exchange implemented within the field of cryptography. Published in 1976 by Diffie and Hellman, this is the earliest publicly known work that proposed the idea of a private key and a corresponding public key. Traditionally, secure encrypted communication between two parties required that they first exchange keys by some secure physical means, such as paper key lists transported by a trusted courier. The Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Key Infrastructure
A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a set of roles, policies, hardware, software and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store and revoke digital certificates and manage public-key encryption. The purpose of a PKI is to facilitate the secure electronic transfer of information for a range of network activities such as e-commerce, internet banking and confidential email. It is required for activities where simple passwords are an inadequate authentication method and more rigorous proof is required to confirm the identity of the parties involved in the communication and to validate the information being transferred. In cryptography, a PKI is an arrangement that ''binds'' public keys with respective identities of entities (like people and organizations). The binding is established through a process of registration and issuance of certificates at and by a certificate authority (CA). Depending on the assurance level of the binding, this may be carried out by an automa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Key Distribution In Wireless Sensor Networks
Key distribution is an important issue in wireless sensor network (WSN) desig WSNs are networks of small, battery-powered, memory-constraint devices named sensor nodes, which have the capability of wireless communication over a restricted area. Due to memory and power constraints, they need to be well arranged to build a fully functional network. Key distribution schemes Key predistribution is the method of distribution of keys onto nodes before deployment. Therefore, the nodes build up the network using their secret keys after deployment, that is, when they reach their target position. Key predistribution schemes are various methods that have been developed by academicians for a better maintenance of PEA management in WSNs. Basically a key predistribution scheme has 3 phases: # Key distribution # Shared key discovery # Path-key establishment During these phases, secret keys are generated, placed in sensor nodes, and each sensor node searches the area in its communication range to f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secret Sharing
Secret sharing (also called secret splitting) refers to methods for distributing a secret among a group, in such a way that no individual holds any intelligible information about the secret, but when a sufficient number of individuals combine their 'shares', the secret may be reconstructed. Whereas ''insecure'' secret sharing allows an attacker to gain more information with each share, ''secure'' secret sharing is 'all or nothing' (where 'all' means the necessary number of shares). In one type of secret sharing scheme there is one ''dealer'' and ''n'' ''players''. The dealer gives a share of the secret to the players, but only when specific conditions are fulfilled will the players be able to reconstruct the secret from their shares. The dealer accomplishes this by giving each player a share in such a way that any group of ''t'' (for ''threshold'') or more players can together reconstruct the secret but no group of fewer than ''t'' players can. Such a system is called a -threshol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloud Storage
Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical pools, said to be on "the cloud". The physical storage spans multiple servers (sometimes in multiple locations), and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company. These cloud storage providers are responsible for keeping the data available and accessible, and the physical environment secured, protected, and running. People and organizations buy or lease storage capacity from the providers to store user, organization, or application data. Cloud storage services may be accessed through a colocated cloud computing service, a web service application programming interface (API) or by applications that use the API, such as cloud desktop storage, a cloud storage gateway or Web-based content management systems. History Cloud computing is believed to have been invented by Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider in the 1960s with his work on ARPANET to connect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shamir's Secret Sharing
Shamir's Secret Sharing (SSS) is an efficient secret sharing algorithm for distributing private information (the "secret") in such a way that no individual holds intelligible information about the secret. To achieve this, the secret is converted into parts (the "shares") from which the secret can be reassembled when a sufficient number of shares are combined but not otherwise. SSS has the unusual property of information theoretic security, meaning an adversary without enough shares cannot reconstruct the secret even with infinite time and computing capacity. A standard SSS specification for cryptocurrency wallets has been widely implemented. High-level explanation SSS is used to secure a secret in a distributed way, most often to secure other encryption keys. The secret is split into multiple shares, which individually do not give any information about the secret. To unlock a secret secured by SSS a minimum number of shares are needed, called the ''threshold''. No additional in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Key Management
Key management refers to management of cryptographic keys in a cryptosystem. This includes dealing with the generation, exchange, storage, use, crypto-shredding (destruction) and replacement of keys. It includes cryptographic protocol design, key servers, user procedures, and other relevant protocols. Key management concerns keys at the user level, either between users or systems. This is in contrast to key scheduling, which typically refers to the internal handling of keys within the operation of a cipher. Successful key management is critical to the security of a cryptosystem. It is the more challenging side of cryptography in a sense that it involves aspects of social engineering such as system policy, user training, organizational and departmental interactions, and coordination between all of these elements, in contrast to pure mathematical practices that can be automated. Types of keys Cryptographic systems may use different types of keys, with some systems using more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
