Traditionally, cryptography has been used to protect people’s privacy and security. However, with the growing prevalence of cyber crime and hackers, cryptography is now being used to develop powerful malware, asymmetric backdoors, and other forms of malicious software. Cryptovirology, as its name suggests, is the study of how cryptography can be used to create malware.
NSA orchestrated a kleptographic attack on users of the Dual EC DRBG pseudorandom number generation algorithm
NSA allegedly installed a back door in the Dual EC DRBG pseudorandom number generation algorithm, according to a New York Times story. The paper linked the back door to a $250 million covert operation aimed at weakening the integrity of encryption systems.
While the algorithm has been around for years, the back door was not widely known outside of internal standard group meetings. It was only made public after the publication of two memos by Edward Snowden.
The Dual EC DRBG backdoor is actually a variant of the Young and Yung kleptographic attack, which was published in the Diffie-Hellman algorithm in Eurocrypt 1997. The paper shows how to build a covert key exchange into the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol.
According to the New York Times, NSA inserted a back door into the 2006 standard. The New York Times has not released memos to prove the existence of the back door, but the story does imply that it was placed there by NSA.
The Dual EC DRBG is not the only cryptographic algorithm to use elliptic curves. One algorithm was based on hash functions, while another was based on block ciphers.
The NIST standard discussed four federally sanctioned random number generators. The Dual EC DRBG is included in the standard. It was also added to RSA’s BSAFE library, which was used in thousands of commercial solutions.
Dual EC DRBG uses a series of points moving around an elliptic curve. The resulting pseudo-random number is based on seed data, s. The rQ bit of the output is used as a seed value, which is truncated 16 bits from the x coordinate of the point. This makes the RNG predictable.
According to the New York Times, Dual EC DRBG has serious problems with being a good RNG. The algorithm is three orders of magnitude slower than its peers. It also assumes greater output bit truncation. Despite these shortcomings, the algorithm is widely used, and at least one provider certifies Dual-EC exclusively.
The Dual EC DRBG algorithm may have been introduced to the standard through NSA’s Bullrun program, which aims to introduce weaknesses into encryption standards. According to the New York Times, NSA has a secret key to the algorithm that allows it to produce a symmetric key to decrypt asymmetric ciphertext.
Extortion based attacks
Viruses can be used as tools for criminal activity. They can also be used as ammunition in the context of information warfare. A virus can be a threat to a computer system because it can be used to encrypt data. This means that the data is only decipherable by the attacker. Viruses can also be used as tools to gain access to other systems, such as databases.
Computer attacks are becoming faster and more sophisticated. These attacks use strong cryptographic techniques to secure information. They are also more effective against reverse engineering. These attacks can also lead to information leakage. In addition, cybercriminals have turned their attention to supply chains, managed service providers, and other data sources. In response to these attacks, preventive measures are being put into place.
Viruses can also be used as extortion tools. These tools are able to encrypt data and demand payment in return for its decryption. The attacker may delete the data from the computer device after a certain period of time. The data is then held for ransom. These attacks are also used in large-scale DoS attacks.
In order to use crypto viruses for extortion, an attacker must have the virus’ public key. This is also the public key of the virus’ author. The attacker can then use the public key to gain access to the data.
Another attack that can be carried out is the deniable password snatching attack. This involves a custom cryptovirus and a Trojan horse. The Trojan horse allows the attacker to run code on the victim’s system without causing any damage. The attack then encrypts the victim’s data and demands payment for its decryption.
Another attack that can be carried out by crypto viruses is the denial of resources attack. This attack is performed by the virus, which encrypts information and broadcasts it over a network. These attacks can also be used to bring down communication in enemy networks. The effectiveness of these attacks depends on the sensitivity of the information.
In addition to these attacks, cryptovirology also includes analysis of cryptographic algorithms used by malware writers. These attacks are used to gain better anonymity for the attacker, enhance the malware’s privacy, and give them new types of denial-of-service attacks.
Neutral technology
Putting it on a pedestal for a while now, I can’t shake the feeling that the world wide web is a pretty good place to be. It’s no secret that I am a technology buff at heart, so I’m a sucker for anything that can help make my day to day operations a bit more bearable. I’ve been watching the world a little closer than usual and have become a bit of a nerd, which is not a bad thing. I’ve also become quite savvy when it comes to identifying and preventing fraud.
A few tips and tricks have made my job a bit easier, and my day a lot less stressful. I’ve even found a few friends and collaborators along the way. So, if you’re reading this and you happen to be in the know, I’d like to hear your input. You can write to me at the address below. I’m sure I’ll hear back from you in no time. I’m sure you’ll be on the prowl, as well. If you’re in the market for a new computer, I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction. I’ll be glad to answer any and all questions that you might have about computers and network security. I’m also glad to be an early adopter. I’m a big fan of using a good firewall to keep hackers at bay.
Intractability
Developed by researchers in academia, cryptovirology is a subset of the field of cryptography that focuses on attacks against algorithms and cryptographic techniques used by malware writers. It also includes analysis of the encryptors and packers used by viruses. In addition to these, cryptovirology includes the study of cryptography-based techniques, such as delayed code.
In cryptovirology, the level of difficulty in solving an equation is known as the intractability. It is also used to define the scope of a given attack. A simple ransomware attack may not be very difficult to reverse, while more advanced attacks can be difficult to defeat. There are also many other attacks in the field of cryptovirology.
An example of an attack that can be difficult to defeat is the elliptic curve problem. This problem involves defining an imaginary point called the origin. The origin exists at theoretically extreme points on the curve. However, it is difficult to solve this problem, as it requires a less-than-complete key length to work.
Another example is the integer factorization problem. This problem is similar to the elliptic curve problem, as it requires a smaller key length to work. However, it is less difficult to solve than the discrete logarithm problem.
