Provable security and other problems in modern cryptography
Cryptography was originally a mystical art form with the goal of concealing information from unauthorized persons. For example, a simple method for encrypting messages was developed by Gaius Julius Caesar around the year 100 BC. The basic idea of the method was to shift each letter of a message by a fixed amount in the alphabet. This position then served as a secret key. For example, if Caesar were to encrypt Veni, vidi, vici with a secret key of 3, it would result in a ciphertext of Yhql, ylgl, ylfl.
However, the method was soon seen through, then improved, cracked again, and so on. In this way, over time, a kind of cat-and-mouse game developed between the designers of encryption methods and the attackers who cracked the methods in order to access the secret information. This dragged on until the discovery of provable security in the 1980s.
Provable security is a field that seeks to assess the security of systems through mathematical proofs . People often think of cryptography as a sea of digits and huge numbers, which it often is; however, for a mathematician, the goal is to sweep away the details and define the system symbolically in a way that lends itself to logical proof. The development of provable security has brought rigor to the ancient practice of cryptography, which was once considered more art than science.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.