cryptography

Code crackers break 923-bit encryption record

Before today no one thought it was possible to successfully break a 923-bit code. And even if it was possible, scientists estimated it would take thousands of years.

However, over 148 days and a couple of hours, using 21 computers, the code was cracked.

Working together, Fujitsu Laboratories, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, and Kyushu University in Japan announced today that they broke the world record for cryptanalysis using next-generation cryptography.

"Despite numerous efforts to use and spread this cryptography at the development stage, it wasn't until this new way of approaching the problem was … Read more

Hall of fame adds inventors of digital camera, barcode

The inventors of the digital camera, the industrial robot, public-key cryptography, and the barcode are just some of those being inducted into this year's National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Today, the National Inventors Hall of Fame announced its latest selections of the people responsible for some of the key technologies that we use and rely on today.

In 1975, a Kodak engineer named Steve Sasson built a device that was able to capture an image, convert it to an electronic signal, and then digitize and store that image, leading to the world's first digital camera, according to the … Read more

How public-key crypto was born

Public-key cryptography is widely used to secure online transactions. The math behind the technology was devised by U.K. Government Communications Headquarters scientists in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The discovery was kept secret to avoid revealing how closely GCHQ was working with the U.S. National Security Agency at the time. The breakthrough by GCHQ scientists James Ellis, Clifford Cocks, and Matthew Williamson only came to light in 1997, when their work was declassified.

In public-key cryptography, data is encrypted using a widely distributed public key, and can be decrypted using a private key. Cocks, the GCHQ mathematician … Read more

Quantum crypto cracked, researchers say

Researchers at Norwegian and German institutes claim to have successfully cracked the quantum cryptography equipment used to cloak highly sensitive communications by banks and defense agencies.

The researchers said they had remotely controlled the photon detectors used in commercially available photodiode quantum cryptography systems. This allowed them to eavesdrop on communications, the researchers said.

"The security of quantum cryptography relies on quantum physics but not only [on that]...It must also be properly implemented," said Gerd Leuchs of the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg in a statement Sunday (PDF). "This fact was often overlooked in the past."

Read … Read more

How one company stays safe with two networks

At Cryptography Research, the key number is two. There are two separate computer networks, two different systems on every employee's desk and twice the normal number of servers storing data.

To keep hackers out of the network the company runs disparate and unconnected networks--an A network for sensitive data and core engineering work that is not connected to the Internet, and a B network used for e-mail, Web surfing and other Internet activities.

"We built the networks out at least 10 years ago as soon as we started getting really sensitive client data," said Paul Kocher, founder … Read more

Want really secure Gmail? Try GPG encryption

Perhaps Google's announcement that Chinese cyber attackers went after human rights activists' Gmail accounts has made you skittish about just how private your own messages are on the Google e-mail service.

Well, if you want to take a significant step in keeping prying eyes away from your electronic correspondence, one good encryption technology that predates Google altogether is worth looking at. It's called public key encryption, and I'm sharing some instructions on how to get it working if you want try it.

Unfortunately, better security typically goes hand in hand with increased inconvenience. But some human rights … Read more

Q&A: Schneier warns of marketers and dancing pigs

In a security industry full of FUD and hype, cryptographer and consultant Bruce Schneier offers a no-nonsense reality check verging on social commentary.

He has worked on numerous ciphers, hash functions, and other cryptographic algorithms that are arcane to the average computer user but which have been instrumental in protecting the privacy of data. But his influence extends beyond the world of encryption.

Schneier wrote several bestselling books--including "Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World," "Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World," and his latest, "Schneier on Security"--that provide perspective on risks and threats in everything from e-mail to airport security. And his Cryto-Gram newsletter and blog are considered must-reads inside and outside the industry.

Opinionated and cynical, he doesn't hesitate to point out that one of the biggest limitations of technology is people. ("The user's going to pick dancing pigs over security every time," he has been quoted as saying.)

In an e-mail interview with CNET News, Schneier pokes fun at National Cyber Security Month, talks about his background in crypto and working for the U.S. Defense Department, and says he fears privacy invasion more from marketers than governments or criminals.

Q: You started out as a cryptographer but are considered an expert on all types of security threats, hypes, and realities. Do you still do much cryptography? Schneier: Some. I'm a member of the cryptographic team that developed the Skein hash function, currently a second-round candidate in NIST's competition to choose an SHA-3. These competitions are kind of like cryptographic demolitions derbies: all the teams put their algorithms in the ring and try to beat up everyone else's. NIST received 64 submissions, of which 51 met the submission criteria. Of those 51, 14 proceeded to the second round. It's great fun to be working on this.

Overall, though, I am not doing a lot of cryptography. Over the past several years I have been studying security economics, and more recently, the psychology of security. These are important new fields that will have many lessons for security technology.

What are your thoughts on the state of cryptography today? There doesn't seem to be anything going on as exciting as the crypto battles of the 1990s. Schneier: We really have all the cryptography we need for the foreseeable future; the problem is using it securely. Computer and network security are by far the weaker links. Even worse are things like user interface, installation, implementation, configuration, use, and update. There's so much good cryptography that doesn't get used properly because of one of these issues. These are hardly new areas, but they're the areas that need the most work.

Do you encrypt your e-mail?… Read more

Find secure encryption with CryptoLab

While we were a little put off by this free text encryption program's registration process, we found its performance reliable and secure.

The makers of CryptoLab didn't put much effort in designing the interface, but it is easy to navigate. You can choose from a long list of encryption methods, including AES, DES, and Blowfish. The settings menu lets you create a master password for protecting the program. You can also set your key length. We simply selected an algorithm, typed our message into the text field, and chose the random option when creating a key. But before … Read more

Keystrokes can be recovered remotely

Wired keyboards, like those found on desktop PCs, emit electromagnetic waves that can be read remotely, according two Swiss researchers.

Researchers Martin Vuagnoux and Sylvain Pasini of the Swiss Security and Cryptography Laboratory at LASEC/EPFL, were able to recover keystrokes from wired keyboards at a distance up to 20 meters (about 65 feet), even through walls, simply by reading the electromagnetic emanations of the peripheral device. The experiments focused on wired keyboards attached to a computer either by PS/2 or USB connections.

In two videos, Vuagnoux demonstrates the attacks.

In the first video, he shows how only the … Read more