Development of a novel key-derivation function for speed, security and simplicity in picture-passphrase encryption
Robert Grimes, Jing Yao · Journal of computing sciences in colleges · 2015
A new key-derivation function is proposed with the purposes of improved speed, better usability, and security in picture-passphrase based encryption. Certain encryption software use key-derivation functions (KDFs) such as PBKDF2, which can be computationally expensive and too slow to be used in some systems. Although some technologies will be able to withstand lower usability or efficiency from certain implementations of slow KDFs, others may not; it is therefore necessary to choose the best key derivation function that meets security, usability, and efficiency requirements. Our algorithm takes a passphrase and a picture as input and, based on the passphrase, randomly selects pixels from the picture to be converted to binary strings to be used as keys. In this paper, an introduction is given, followed by background material and an analysis of the new KDF and its outcomes. Finally, we make a conclusion on the finding.