The State of the Art in Algorithmic Encryption
Alexander Wiesmaier · 2006
Introduction In most cases the security of a given encryption algorithm is not mathematically proved, but is based on commonly agreed security assessments and on the robustness against known attacks. The more an algorithm is analyzed the more trustworthy it is considered. Most algorithms are disclosed and described in norms and specifications. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that unexpected advances in cryptanalysis weaken or even break an algorithm. It is very important to be prepared with alternative systems as the probability that all of them break at the same time significantly lowers with the number of alternatives. The security of a given cipher text depends highly on the secrecy of the decryption key. Generally longer keys provide better security (particularly against brute force attacks) but usually decrease the performance. The longer the term in which the cipher text must stay secret the longer is the required key size. 2 Symmetric Encryption Symmetric (secret key) enc