ccrypt is a utility for the secure
encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decip ...
and decryption of
files and
streams
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
. It was designed as a replacement for the standard
UNIX
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
crypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
utility, which is notorious for using a very weak encryption
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...
.
ccrypt is based on the
Rijndael cypher, the same cipher used in the
AES standard. However, in the AES standard a 128-bit block size is used, whereas ccrypt uses a 256-bit block size. ccrypt commonly uses the
.cpt file extension for encrypted files.
ccrypt does not provide an
authenticated encryption
Authenticated Encryption (AE) and Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD) are forms of encryption which simultaneously assure the confidentiality and authenticity of data.
Programming interface
A typical programming interface for ...
scheme and therefore does not protect the integrity of encrypted data.
See also
*
bcrypt
bcrypt is a password-hashing function designed by Niels Provos and David Mazières, based on the Blowfish cipher and presented at USENIX in 1999. Besides incorporating a salt to protect against rainbow table attacks, bcrypt is an adaptive fu ...
*
crypt (Unix)
In Unix computing, crypt or enigma is a utility program used for encryption. Due to the ease of breaking it, it is considered to be obsolete.
The program is usually used as a filter, and it has traditionally been implemented using a "rotor ma ...
*
mcrypt
mcrypt is a replacement for the popular Unix crypt command. crypt was a file encryption tool that used an algorithm very close to the World War II Enigma cipher. Mcrypt provides the same functionality but uses several modern algorithms such as ...
*
scrypt
In cryptography, scrypt (pronounced "ess crypt") is a password-based key derivation function created by Colin Percival in March 2009, originally for the Tarsnap online backup service. The algorithm was specifically designed to make it costly ...
References
External links
ccrypt homepage
Cryptographic software
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