Secure Random Key Generation Algorithm
Key generators are constructed using one of the getInstance
class methods of this class.
How would I generate a secure key in a C program (I know, that writing a crypto library on my own is not secure at all but I just want to learn basic principles from key generating to key exchanging to encryption mechanisms). How could I approach the problem of implementing an algorithm for a secure key generation? Key generation is the process of generating keys in cryptography.A key is used to encrypt and decrypt whatever data is being encrypted/decrypted. A device or program used to generate keys is called a key generator or keygen. In cryptography, a key is a piece of information (a parameter) that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm.For encryption algorithms, a key specifies the transformation of plaintext into ciphertext, and vice versa for decryption algorithms. Constructs a secure random number generator (RNG) implementing the default random number algorithm. The SecureRandom instance is seeded with the specified seed bytes. This constructor traverses the list of registered security Providers, starting with the most preferred Provider. A new SecureRandom object encapsulating the SecureRandomSpi implementation from the first Provider that supports a SecureRandom (RNG) algorithm. Dec 14, 2011 Random Number Generation in Java:-Java provides mainly two sets of API/classes to generate Random numbers: Random and SecureRandom. Random API: This is used to generate a stream of pseudorandom numbers. It uses a 48-bit seed (the initial data) which is then modified using a linear congruential formula.
KeyGenerator objects are reusable, i.e., after a key has been generated, the same KeyGenerator object can be re-used to generate further keys.
There are two ways to generate a key: in an algorithm-independent manner, and in an algorithm-specific manner. The only difference between the two is the initialization of the object:
- Algorithm-Independent Initialization
All key generators share the concepts of a keysize and a source of randomness. There is an
init
Openssl generate csr from key. method in this KeyGenerator class that takes these two universally shared types of arguments. There is also one that takes just akeysize
argument, and uses the SecureRandom implementation of the highest-priority installed provider as the source of randomness (or a system-provided source of randomness if none of the installed providers supply a SecureRandom implementation), and one that takes just a source of randomness.Since no other parameters are specified when you call the above algorithm-independent
init
methods, it is up to the provider what to do about the algorithm-specific parameters (if any) to be associated with each of the keys. - Algorithm-Specific Initialization
For situations where a set of algorithm-specific parameters already exists, there are two
init
methods that have anAlgorithmParameterSpec
argument. One also has aSecureRandom
argument, while the other uses the SecureRandom implementation of the highest-priority installed provider as the source of randomness (or a system-provided source of randomness if none of the installed providers supply a SecureRandom implementation).
In case the client does not explicitly initialize the KeyGenerator (via a call to an init
method), each provider must supply (and document) a default initialization.
Every implementation of the Java platform is required to support the following standard KeyGenerator
algorithms with the keysizes in parentheses:
- AES (128)
- DES (56)
- DESede (168)
- HmacSHA1
- HmacSHA256
Key generation is the process of generating keys in cryptography. A key is used to encrypt and decrypt whatever data is being encrypted/decrypted.
A device or program used to generate keys is called a key generator or keygen.
Generation in cryptography[edit]
Modern cryptographic systems include symmetric-key algorithms (such as DES and AES) and public-key algorithms (such as RSA). Symmetric-key algorithms use a single shared key; keeping data secret requires keeping this key secret. Public-key algorithms use a public key and a private key. The public key is made available to anyone (often by means of a digital certificate). A sender encrypts data with the receiver's public key; only the holder of the private key can decrypt this data.
Since public-key algorithms tend to be much slower than symmetric-key algorithms, modern systems such as TLS and SSH use a combination of the two: one party receives the other's public key, and encrypts a small piece of data (either a symmetric key or some data used to generate it). The remainder of the conversation uses a (typically faster) symmetric-key algorithm for encryption.
Computer cryptography uses integers for keys. In some cases keys are randomly generated using a random number generator (RNG) or pseudorandom number generator (PRNG). A PRNG is a computeralgorithm that produces data that appears random under analysis. PRNGs that use system entropy to seed data generally produce better results, since this makes the initial conditions of the PRNG much more difficult for an attacker to guess. Another way to generate randomness is to utilize information outside the system. veracrypt (a disk encryption software) utilizes user mouse movements to generate unique seeds, in which users are encouraged to move their mouse sporadically. In other situations, the key is derived deterministically using a passphrase and a key derivation function.
Many modern protocols are designed to have forward secrecy, which requires generating a fresh new shared key for each session.
Classic cryptosystems invariably generate two identical keys at one end of the communication link and somehow transport one of the keys to the other end of the link.However, it simplifies key management to use Diffie–Hellman key exchange instead.
The simplest method to read encrypted data without actually decrypting it is a brute-force attack—simply attempting every number, up to the maximum length of the key. Therefore, it is important to use a sufficiently long key length; longer keys take exponentially longer to attack, rendering a brute-force attack impractical. Currently, key lengths of 128 bits (for symmetric key algorithms) and 2048 bits (for public-key algorithms) are common.
Generation in physical layer[edit]
Wireless channels[edit]
A wireless channel is characterized by its two end users. By transmitting pilot signals, these two users can estimate the channel between them and use the channel information to generate a key which is secret only to them.[1] The common secret key for a group of users can be generated based on the channel of each pair of users.[2]
Optical fiber[edit]
A key can also be generated by exploiting the phase fluctuation in a fiber link.[clarification needed]
See also[edit]
- Distributed key generation: For some protocols, no party should be in the sole possession of the secret key. Rather, during distributed key generation, every party obtains a share of the key. A threshold of the participating parties need to cooperate to achieve a cryptographic task, such as decrypting a message.
References[edit]
- ^Chan Dai Truyen Thai; Jemin Lee; Tony Q. S. Quek (Feb 2016). 'Physical-Layer Secret Key Generation with Colluding Untrusted Relays'. IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications. 15 (2): 1517–1530. doi:10.1109/TWC.2015.2491935.
- ^Chan Dai Truyen Thai; Jemin Lee; Tony Q. S. Quek (Dec 2015). 'Secret Group Key Generation in Physical Layer for Mesh Topology'. 2015 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM). San Diego. pp. 1–6. doi:10.1109/GLOCOM.2015.7417477.