Robust Encryption, Extended

Robustness is a notion often tacitly assumed while working with encrypted data. Roughly speaking, it states that a ciphertext cannot be decrypted under different keys. Initially formalized in a public-key context, it has been further extended to key-encapsulation mechanisms, and more recently to pseudorandom functions, message authentication codes and authenticated encryption. In this work, we motivate the importance of establishing similar guarantees for functional encryption schemes, even under adversarially generated keys. Our main security notion is intended to capture the scenario where a ciphertext obtained under a master key (corresponding to Authority 1) is decrypted by functional keys issued under a different master key (Authority 2). Furthermore, we show there exist simple functional encryption schemes where robustness under adversarial key-generation is not achieved. As a secondary and independent result, we formalize robustness for digital signatures – a signature should not verify under multiple keys – and point out that certain signature schemes are not robust when the keys are adversarially generated. We present simple, generic transforms that turn a scheme into a robust one, while maintaining the original scheme’s security. For the case of public-key functional encryption, we look into ciphertext anonymity and provide a transform achieving it

Robust Encryption

We provide a provable-security treatment of ``robust\u27\u27 encryption. Robustness means it is hard to produce a ciphertext that is valid for two different users. Robustness makes explicit a property that has been implicitly assumed in the past. We argue that it is an essential conjunct of anonymous encryption. We show that natural anonymity-preserving ways to achieve it, such as adding recipient identification information before encrypting, fail. We provide transforms that do achieve it, efficiently and provably. We assess the robustness of specific encryption schemes in the literature, providing simple patches for some that lack the property. We discuss applications including PEKS (Public-key Encryption with Keyword Search) and auctions. Overall our work enables safer and simpler use of encryption

An Android-based Image Steganography Approach to Data Communication Security using LSB and Password-based Encryption

The study's ultimate goal is to develop an Android app dedicated to Image Steganography, a technique for concealing sensitive information behind seemingly innocuous photographs. This information hiding technique is essential because of its many potential uses. Symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and steganography are all brought together in this method. The initial picture is encrypted using a symmetric technique in this procedure. After that, the encrypted picture is quietly placed using a least significant bits Steganographic approach to conceal the secret key that was encrypted using an asymmetric algorithm. The steganography algorithm's simple but effective security mechanism is a major benefit. Integrating a secret message into a seemingly benign source makes it very difficult to detect the hidden message without prior knowledge of its existence and the appropriate decryption algorithm. The privacy of the concealed data is protected by this feature. The planned Android app would provide a user-friendly interface for using picture steganography methods, making it simple for anybody to choose commonplace photos and secret messages for obfuscation. Both the original picture and the concealed message will be kept secret thanks to the app's robust encryption methods. The hidden message will be seamlessly included into the regular picture using advanced steganographic methods like the least significant bits approach. The creation of this software is motivated by a desire to provide an easily accessible solution for people who want safe communication through hidden messages or encrypted photos. The robust encryption and steganographic technologies, paired with the straightforward interface, will enable users to effectively protect sensitive information. This work will strengthen the area of data security and highlight the need of sophisticated encryption and steganography in modern digital communication

ENHANCING CYBERSECURITY FOR UNMANNED SYSTEMS: A COMPREHENSIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

This culminating experience project addresses the pressing cybersecurity challenges encountered by unmanned autonomous vehicles. The research provides a comprehensive literature review on how hybrid encryption techniques can improve the security of its communication systems. The chosen research questions guiding this study are: (Q1) How can we enhance cybersecurity measures to safeguard the communication and transmission of sensitive data from unmanned systems, thereby preventing unauthorized access by malicious actors? (Q2) How can we ensure the confidentiality and integrity of messages exchanged with unmanned systems to a command-and-control center operating on the tactical edge? (Q3) How can hybrid encryption tackle the consumption problem of substantial processing power required for encrypting and transmitting data in unmanned systems? The findings are: Q1. hybrid security strategy ensures strong communication integrity and safeguards against malicious interception in operations involving unmanned systems; Q2. lightweight cryptographic algorithms and hybrid encryption methods specifically designed for unmanned systems efficiently protect both the confidentiality and integrity of messages while optimizing computational resources; Q3. when using hybrid encryption, unmanned systems can effectively manage power consumption while maintaining robust data security protocols. The conclusions are: Q1. combining symmetric encryption for efficient data handling with asymmetric encryption for secure key exchange significantly enhances data confidentiality, integrity, and overall security. Q2. end-to-end encryption, secure key management, and authenticated encryption mechanisms within a hybrid encryption framework reduce risks associated with interception, tampering, and unauthorized access via unmanned systems. Q3. integrating efficient algorithm selection, optimized key management, resource-aware encryption, and dynamic key generation methods, can address power consumption concerns. Future research directions should include deeper exploration of hybrid encryption practices within unmanned systems to advance understanding in the realm of communication systems for autonomous vehicles

Medical image encryption techniques: a technical survey and potential challenges

Among the most sensitive and important data in telemedicine systems are medical images. It is necessary to use a robust encryption method that is resistant to cryptographic assaults while transferring medical images over the internet. Confidentiality is the most crucial of the three security goals for protecting information systems, along with availability, integrity, and compliance. Encryption and watermarking of medical images address problems with confidentiality and integrity in telemedicine applications. The need to prioritize security issues in telemedicine applications makes the choice of a trustworthy and efficient strategy or framework all the more crucial. The paper examines various security issues and cutting-edge methods to secure medical images for use with telemedicine systems

Securing Data in Transit using Two Channel Communication

Securing data in transit is critically important to the Department of Defense in todays contested environments. While encryption is often the preferred method to provide security, there exist applications for which encryption is too resource intensive, not cost-effective or simply not available. In this thesis, a two-channel communication system is proposed in which the message being sent can be intelligently and dynamically split over two or more channels to provide a measure of data security either when encryption is not available, or perhaps in addition to encryption. This data spiting technique employs multiple wireless channels operating at the physical layer, allowing traditional layers above to run seamlessly over it. Eight data splitting policies are developed with preliminary evaluation of their effectiveness in combating three common cyber security threat scenarios to include eavesdropping, jamming and man-in-the-middle attacks. These policies are then implemented in a simple proof-of-concept communication system simulation. Moreover, a framework is proposed for measuring and classifying the level of integrity, confidentiality and availability that is provided by each policy. While additional discussions present and evaluate potential packet structure, more possibilities for dynamic tunability of the developed policies and any potential vulnerabilities introduced by these data splitting schemes. Lastly, a simulation test-bed is constructed to allow for implementation and testing of future policies. These data splitting techniques could provide additional options to increase data-in-transit security for unencrypted systems operating in contested environments