Blockcipher Based Hashing Revisited

We revisit the rate-1 blockcipher based hash functions as first studied by Preneel, Govaerts and Vandewalle (Crypto\u2793) and later extensively analysed by Black, Rogaway and Shrimpton (Crypto\u2702). We analyze a further generalization where any pre- and postprocessing is considered. By introducing a new tweak to earlier proof methods, we obtain a simpler proof that is both more general and more tight than existing results. As added benefit, this also leads to a clearer understanding of the current classification of rate-1 blockcipher based schemes as introduced by Preneel et al. and refined by Black et al

XTR and Tori

At the turn of the century, 80-bit security was the standard. When considering discrete-log based cryptosystems, it could be achieved using either subgroups of 1024-bit finite fields or using (hyper)elliptic curves. The latter would allow more compact and efficient arithmetic, until Lenstra and Verheul invented XTR. Here XTR stands for \u27ECSTR\u27, itself an abbreviation for Efficient and Compact Subgroup Trace Representation. XTR exploits algebraic properties of the cyclotomic subgroup of sixth degree extension fields, allowing representation only a third of their regular size, making finite field DLP-based systems competitive with elliptic curve ones. Subsequent developments, such as the move to 128-bit security and improvements in finite field DLP, rendered the original XTR and closely related torus-based cryptosystems no longer competitive with elliptic curves. Yet, some of the techniques related to XTR are still relevant for certain pairing-based cryptosystems. This chapter describes the past and the present of XTR and other methods for efficient and compact subgroup arithmetic

Tightness Subtleties for Multi-user PKE Notions

Public key encryption schemes are increasingly being studied concretely, with an emphasis on tight bounds even in a multi-user setting. Here, two types of formalization have emerged, one with a single challenge bit and one with multiple challenge bits. Another modelling choice is whether to allow key corruptions or not. How tightly the various notions relate to each other has hitherto not been studied in detail. We show that in the absence of corruptions, single-bit left-or-right indistinguishability is the preferred notion, as it tightly implies the other (corruption-less) notions. However, in the presence of corruptions, this implication no longer holds; we suggest the use of a more general notion that tightly implies both existing options. Furthermore, for completeness we study how the relationship between left-or-right versus real-or-random evolves in the multi-user PKE setting

Building a Collision-Resistant Compression Function from Non-Compressing Primitives

We consider how to build an efficient compression function from a small number of random, non-compressing primitives. Our main goal is to achieve a level of collision resistance as close as possible to the optimal birthday bound. We present a $2n$-to-$n$ bit compression function based on three independent $n$-to-$n$ bit random functions, each called only once. We show that if the three random functions are treated as black boxes finding collisions requires $\Theta(2^{n/2}/n^c)$ queries for $c\approx 1$. This result remains valid if two of the three random functions are replaced by a fixed-key ideal cipher in Davies-Meyer mode (i.e., E_K(x)\xor x for permutation $E_K$). We also give a heuristic, backed by experimental results, suggesting that the security loss is at most four bits for block sizes up to 256 bits. We believe this is the best result to date on the matter of building a collision resistant compression function from non-compressing functions. It also relates to an open question from Black et al. (Eurocrypt\u2705), who showed that compression functions that invoke a single non-compressing random function cannot suffice. We also explore the relationship of our problem with that of doubling the output of a hash function and we show how our compression function can be used to double the output length of ideal hashes

Dynamic Security Aspects of Onion Routing

An anonymous communication network (ACN) is designed to protect the identities of two parties communicating through it, even if an adversary controls or observes parts of the network. Among the ACNs, Tor represents a practical trade-off between offering a reasonable level of anonymity and, simultaneously, an acceptable transmission delay. Due to its practical impact, there is abundant literature on the performance of Tor concerning both communication and security aspects. Recently, a static framework was suggested for evaluating and comparing, in a quantifiable way, the effect of different scenarios (attacks, defence mechanisms, and other protocol changes). Although a static model is useful, many scenarios involve parameters and stochastic variables that change or evolve over time, or that may be influenced by active and malicious adversaries. In this paper, we propose a dynamic framework for evaluating such scenarios. We identify several scenarios where this framework is applicable, and illustrate our framework by considering the guard node mechanism in Tor. We evaluate and compare variations on the guard node concept suggested in the literature with respect to relevant performance metrics and, using the framework, support our evaluation with a theoretical analysis

Eutetrarhynchid trypanorhynchs (Cestoda) from elasmobranchs off Argentina, including the description of Dollfusiella taminii sp. n. and Parachristianella damiani sp. n., and amended description of Dollfusiella vooremi (São Clemente et Gomes, 1989)

During a parasitological survey of teleosts and elasmobranchs in the Argentine Sea, 3 species of eutetrarhynchids were collected from the batoids Myliobatis goodei Garman and Psammobatis bergi Marini, and the shark Mustelus schmitti Springer. The specimens collected from Mu. schmitti were identified as Dollfusiela vooremi (São Clemente et Gomes, 1989), whereas the specimens from My. goodei and Ps. bergi resulted in new species of Dollfusiella Campbell et Beveridge, 1994 and Parachristianella Dollfus, 1946, respectively. Dollfusiella taminii sp. n. from Ps. bergi is characterised by a distinct basal armature with basal swelling and a heteroacanthous homeomorphous metabasal armature with 7–9 falcate hooks per principal row. Parachristianella damiani sp. n. from My. goodei lacks a distinct basal armature, having 2–3 initial rows of uncinate hooks, a heteroacanthous heteromorphous metabasal armature with the first principal row of small hooks, followed by rows with 10–14 large hooks. This is the first record of Parachristianella in the southwestern Atlantic. The amended description of D. vooremi includes the detailed description of the tentacular armature, including SEM micrographs of all tentacular surfaces. This species is characterised by a basal armature consisting of rows of uncinate and falcate hooks, a basal swelling and a metabasal armature with billhooks on the antibothrial surface and uncinate hooks on the bothrial surface. The scolex peduncle of D. vooremi is covered with enlarged spinitriches. This species is restricted to carcharhiniform sharks, since the report of D. vooremi in Sympterygia bonapartii Müller et Henle off Bahía Blanca (Argentina) is dubious.Fil: Menoret, Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Ivanov, Veronica Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; Argentin

The preimage security of double-block-length compression functions

We give improved bounds on the preimage security of the three ``classical\u27\u27 double-block-length, double-call, blockcipher-based compression functions, these being Abreast-DM, Tandem-DM and Hirose\u27s scheme. For Hirose\u27s scheme, we show that an adversary must make at least $2^{2n-5}$ blockcipher queries to achieve chance $0.5$ of inverting a randomly chosen point in the range. For Abreast-DM and Tandem-DM we show that at least $2^{2n-10}$ queries are necessary. These bounds improve upon the previous best bounds of $\Omega(2^n)$ queries, and are optimal up to a constant factor since the compression functions in question have range of size $2^{2n}$

SoK: Public Key Encryption with Openings

When modelling how public key encryption can enable secure communication, we should acknowledge that secret information, such as private keys or the randomness used for encryption, could become compromised. Intuitively, one would expect unrelated communication to remain secure, yet formalizing this intuition has proven challenging. Several security notions have appeared that aim to capture said scenario, ranging from the multi-user setting with corruptions, via selective opening attacks (SOA), to non-committing encryption (NCE). Remarkably, how the different approaches compare has not yet been systematically explored. We provide a novel framework that maps each approach to an underlying philosophy of confidentiality: indistinguishability versus simulatability based, each with an a priori versus an a posteriori variant, leading to four distinct philosophies. In the absence of corruptions, these notions are largely equivalent; yet, in the presence of corruptions, they fall into a hierarchy of relative strengths, from IND-CPA and IND-CCA at the bottom, via indistinguishability SOA and simulatability SOA, to NCE at the top. We provide a concrete treatment for the four notions, discuss subtleties in their definitions and asymptotic interpretations and identify limitations of each. Furthermore, we re-cast the main implications of the hierarchy in a concrete security framework, summarize and contextualize other known relations, identify open problems, and close a few gaps. We end on a survey of constructions known to achieve the various notions. We identify and name a generic random-oracle construction that has appeared in various guises to prove security in seemingly different contexts. It hails back to Bellare and Rogaway\u27s seminal work on random oracles (CCS\u2793) and, as previously shown, suffices to meet one of the strongest notions of our hierarchy (single-user NCE with bi-openings)

Efficient Hashing Using the AES Instruction Set

In this work, we provide a software benchmark for a large range of 256-bit blockcipher-based hash functions. We instantiate the underlying blockcipher with AES, which allows us to exploit the recent AES instruction set (AESNI). Since AES itself only outputs 128 bits, we consider double-block-length constructions, as well as (single-block-length) constructions based on RIJNDAEL-256. Although we primarily target architectures supporting AES-NI, our framework has much broader applications by estimating the performance of these hash functions on any (micro-)architecture given AES-benchmark results. As far as we are aware, this is the first comprehensive performance comparison of multiblock- length hash functions in software

Obfuscation for Cryptographic Purposes

Loosely speaking, an obfuscation O of a function f should satisfy two requirements: firstly, using O, it should be possible to evaluate f; secondly, O should not reveal anything about f that cannot be learnt from oracle access to f alone. Several definitions for obfuscation exist. However, most of them are very hard to satisfy, even when focusing on specific applications such as obfuscating a point function (e.g., for authentication purposes)