On weakly APN functions and 4-bit S-Boxes

Abstract

AbstractS-Boxes are important security components of block ciphers. We provide theoretical results on necessary or sufficient criteria for an (invertible) 4-bit S-Box to be weakly APN. Thanks to a classification of 4-bit invertible S-Boxes achieved independently by De Cannière and Leander–Poschmann, we can strengthen our results with a computer-aided proof. We also propose a class of 4-bit S-Boxes which are very strong from a security point of view