Cryptography and Network

Security
Fifth Edition
by William Stallings

Chapter 9
Public Key Cryptography and RSA
Private-Key Cryptography

• traditional private/secret/single key cryptography uses one key

• shared by both sender and receiver
• if this key is disclosed communications are compromised
• also is symmetric, parties are equal
• hence does not protect sender from receiver forging a message &
claiming is sent by sender
Public-Key Cryptography

• probably most significant advance in the 3000 year history of

cryptography
• uses two keys – a public & a private key
• asymmetric since parties are not equal
• uses clever application of number theoretic concepts to function
• complements rather than replaces private key crypto
 Why Public-Key Cryptography?

• developed to address two key issues:

• key distribution – how to have secure communications in general without having
to trust a KDC with your key
• digital signatures – how to verify a message comes intact from the claimed
sender
• public invention due to Whitfield Diffie & Martin Hellman at Stanford
Uni in 1976
• known earlier in classified community
 Public-Key Cryptography
• public-key/two-key/asymmetric cryptography involves the use of two keys:
• a public-key, which may be known by anybody, and can be used to encrypt messages,
and verify signatures
• a related private-key, known only to the recipient, used to decrypt messages, and
sign (create) signatures
• infeasible to determine private key from public
• is asymmetric because
• those who encrypt messages or verify signatures cannot decrypt messages or create
signatures
Public-Key Cryptography
Symmetric vs Public-Key
Public-Key Cryptosystems
 Public-Key Applications
• can classify uses into 3 categories:
• encryption/decryption (provide secrecy)
• digital signatures (provide authentication)
• key exchange (of session keys)
• some algorithms are suitable for all uses, others are specific to one
Public-Key Requirements
• Public-Key algorithms rely on two keys where:
• it is computationally infeasible to find decryption key knowing only
algorithm & encryption key
• it is computationally easy to en/decrypt messages when the relevant
(en/decrypt) key is known
• either of the two related keys can be used for encryption, with the other
used for decryption (for some algorithms)
• these are formidable requirements which only a few algorithms
have satisfied
 Public-Key Requirements
• need a trapdoor one-way function
• one-way function has
• Y = f(X) easy
• X = f–1(Y) infeasible
• a trap-door one-way function has
• Y = fk(X) easy, if k and X are known
• X = fk–1(Y) easy, if k and Y are known
• X = fk–1(Y) infeasible, if Y known but k not known
• a practical public-key scheme depends on a suitable trap-door one-way
function
Security of Public Key Schemes
like private key schemes brute force exhaustive search attack is always
theoretically possible
but keys used are too large (>512bits)
security relies on a large enough difference in difficulty between easy
(en/decrypt) and hard (cryptanalyse) problems
more generally the hard problem is known, but is made hard enough to
be impractical to break
requires the use of very large numbers
hence is slow compared to private key schemes
 RSA
by Rivest, Shamir & Adleman of MIT in 1977
best known & widely used public-key scheme
based on exponentiation in a finite (Galois) field over integers modulo a
prime
nb. exponentiation takes O((log n)3) operations (easy)
uses large integers (eg. 1024 bits)
security due to cost of factoring large numbers
nb. factorization takes O(e log n log log n) operations (hard)
RSA En/decryption

• to encrypt a message M the sender:

• obtains public key of recipient PU={e,n}
• computes: C = Me mod n, where 0≤M<n
• to decrypt the ciphertext C the owner:
• uses their private key PR={d,n}
• computes: M = Cd mod n
• note that the message M must be smaller than the modulus n (block
if needed)
 RSA Key Setup
• each user generates a public/private key pair by:
• selecting two large primes at random: p, q
• computing their system modulus n=p.q
• note ø(n)=(p-1)(q-1)
• selecting at random the encryption key e
• where 1<e<ø(n), gcd(e,ø(n))=1
• solve following equation to find decryption key d
• e.d=1 mod ø(n) and 0≤d≤n
• publish their public encryption key: PU={e,n}
• keep secret private decryption key: PR={d,n}
Why RSA Works

• because of Euler's Theorem:

• aø(n)mod n = 1 where gcd(a,n)=1
• in RSA have:
• n=p.q
• ø(n)=(p-1)(q-1)
• carefully chose e & d to be inverses mod ø(n)
• hence e.d=1+k.ø(n) for some k
• hence :
Cd = Me.d = M1+k.ø(n) = M1.(Mø(n))k
= M1.(1)k = M1 = M mod n
 RSA Example - Key Setup
1. Select primes: p=17 & q=11
2. Calculate n = pq =17 x 11=187
3. Calculate ø(n)=(p–1)(q-1)=16x10=160
4. Select e: gcd(e,160)=1; choose e=7
5. Determine d: de=1 mod 160 and d < 160 Value is d=23 since
23x7=161= 10x160+1
6. Publish public key PU={7,187}
7. Keep secret private key PR={23,187}
RSA Example - En/Decryption

sample RSA encryption/decryption is:

given message M = 88 (nb. 88<187)
encryption:
C = 887 mod 187 = 11
decryption:
M = 1123 mod 187 = 88
Exponentiation
• can use the Square and Multiply Algorithm
• a fast, efficient algorithm for exponentiation
• concept is based on repeatedly squaring base
• and multiplying in the ones that are needed to compute the result
• look at binary representation of exponent
• only takes O(log2 n) multiples for number n
• eg. 75 = 74.71 = 3.7 = 10 mod 11
• eg. 3129 = 3128.31 = 5.3 = 4 mod 11
Exponentiation

c = 0; f = 1
for i = k downto 0
do c = 2 x c
f = (f x f) mod n
if bi == 1 then
c = c + 1
f = (f x a) mod n
return f
Efficient Encryption

• encryption uses exponentiation to power e

• hence if e small, this will be faster
• often choose e=65537 (216-1)
• also see choices of e=3 or e=17
• but if e too small (eg e=3) can attack
• using Chinese remainder theorem & 3 messages with different modulii
• if e fixed must ensure gcd(e,ø(n))=1
• ie reject any p or q not relatively prime to e
Efficient Decryption

• decryption uses exponentiation to power d

• this is likely large, insecure if not
• can use the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) to compute mod p &
q separately. then combine to get desired answer
• approx 4 times faster than doing directly
• only owner of private key who knows values of p & q can use this
technique
RSA Key Generation

• users of RSA must:

• determine two primes at random - p, q
• select either e or d and compute the other
• primes p,q must not be easily derived from modulus n=p.q
• means must be sufficiently large
• typically guess and use probabilistic test
• exponents e, d are inverses, so use Inverse algorithm to compute
the other
RSA Security

• possible approaches to attacking RSA are:

• brute force key search - infeasible given size of numbers
• mathematical attacks - based on difficulty of computing ø(n), by factoring
modulus n
• timing attacks - on running of decryption
• chosen ciphertext attacks - given properties of RSA
Factoring Problem

• mathematical approach takes 3 forms:

• factor n=p.q, hence compute ø(n) and then d
• determine ø(n) directly and compute d
• find d directly
• currently believe all equivalent to factoring
• have seen slow improvements over the years
• as of May-05 best is 200 decimal digits (663) bit with LS
• biggest improvement comes from improved algorithm
• cf QS to GHFS to LS
• currently assume 1024-2048 bit RSA is secure
• ensure p, q of similar size and matching other constraints
Progress in Factoring
Progress in
Factoring
Summary

• have considered:
• principles of public-key cryptography
• RSA algorithm, implementation, security
Timing Attacks

• developed by Paul Kocher in mid-1990’s

• exploit timing variations in operations
• eg. multiplying by small vs large number
• or IF's varying which instructions executed
• infer operand size based on time taken
• RSA exploits time taken in exponentiation
• countermeasures
• use constant exponentiation time
• add random delays
• blind values used in calculations
 Chosen Ciphertext Attacks
• RSA is vulnerable to a Chosen Ciphertext Attack (CCA)
• attackers chooses ciphertexts & gets decrypted plaintext back
• choose ciphertext to exploit properties of RSA to provide info to help
cryptanalysis
• can counter with random pad of plaintext
• or use Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding (OASP)
Cryptography and Network
Security
Fifth Edition
by William Stallings

Chapter 10
Public Key Cryptosystems
Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

• first public-key type scheme proposed

• by Diffie & Hellman in 1976 along with the exposition of public key
concepts
• note: now know that Williamson (UK CESG) secretly proposed the concept in
1970
• is a practical method for public exchange of a secret key
• used in a number of commercial products
 Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange
• a public-key distribution scheme
• cannot be used to exchange an arbitrary message
• rather it can establish a common key
• known only to the two participants
• value of key depends on the participants (and their private and public
key information)
• based on exponentiation in a finite (Galois) field (modulo a prime or a
polynomial) - easy
• security relies on the difficulty of computing discrete logarithms (similar
to factoring) – hard
Diffie-Hellman Setup

• all users agree on global parameters:

• large prime integer or polynomial q
• a being a primitive root mod q
• each user (eg. A) generates their key
• chooses a secret key (number): xA < q
x
• compute their public key: yA = a A mod q
• each user makes public that key yA
Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange

• shared session key for users A & B is KAB:

x x
KAB = a A. B mod q
x
= yA B mod q (which B can compute)
x
= yB A mod q (which A can compute)
• KAB is used as session key in private-key encryption scheme between
Alice and Bob
• if Alice and Bob subsequently communicate, they will have the same
key as before, unless they choose new public-keys
• attacker needs an x, must solve discrete log
Diffie-Hellman Example

• users Alice & Bob who wish to swap keys:

• agree on prime q=353 and a=3
• select random secret keys:
• A chooses xA=97, B chooses xB=233
• compute respective public keys:
97
• yA=3 mod 353 = 40 (Alice)
233
• yB=3 mod 353 = 248 (Bob)
• compute shared session key as:
x 97
• KAB= yB A mod 353 = 248 = 160 (Alice)
x 233
• KAB= yA B mod 353 = 40 = 160 (Bob)
 Key Exchange Protocols
• users could create random private/public D-H keys each time they
communicate
• users could create a known private/public D-H key and publish in a
directory, then consulted and used to securely communicate with them
• both of these are vulnerable to a meet-in-the-Middle Attack
• authentication of the keys is needed
 Man-in-the-Middle Attack
1. Darth prepares by creating two private / public keys
2. Alice transmits her public key to Bob
3. Darth intercepts this and transmits his first public key to Bob.
Darth also calculates a shared key with Alice
4. Bob receives the public key and calculates the shared key (with
Darth instead of Alice)
5. Bob transmits his public key to Alice
6. Darth intercepts this and transmits his second public key to
Alice. Darth calculates a shared key with Bob
7. Alice receives the key and calculates the shared key (with Darth
instead of Bob)
 Darth can then intercept, decrypt, re-encrypt, forward all
messages between Alice & Bob
Elliptic Curve Cryptography

• majority of public-key crypto (RSA, D-H) use either integer or

polynomial arithmetic with very large numbers/polynomials
• imposes a significant load in storing and processing keys and
messages
• an alternative is to use elliptic curves
• offers same security with smaller bit sizes
• newer, but not as well analysed
Real Elliptic Curves
• an elliptic curve is defined by an equation in two variables x & y, with
coefficients
• consider a cubic elliptic curve of form
• y2 = x3 + ax + b
• where x,y,a,b are all real numbers
• also define zero point O
• consider set of points E(a,b) that satisfy
• have addition operation for elliptic curve
• geometrically sum of P+Q is reflection of the intersection R
Real Elliptic Curve Example
 Finite Elliptic Curves
• Elliptic curve cryptography uses curves whose variables & coefficients
are finite
• have two families commonly used:
• prime curves Ep(a,b) defined over Zp
• use integers modulo a prime
• best in software
• binary curves E2m(a,b) defined over GF(2n)
• use polynomials with binary coefficients
• best in hardware
Elliptic Curve Cryptography

• ECC addition is analog of modulo multiply

• ECC repeated addition is analog of modulo exponentiation
• need “hard” problem equiv to discrete log
• Q=kP, where Q,P belong to a prime curve
• is “easy” to compute Q given k,P
• but “hard” to find k given Q,P
• known as the elliptic curve logarithm problem
• Certicom example: E23(9,17)
 ECC Diffie-Hellman
• can do key exchange analogous to D-H
• users select a suitable curve Eq(a,b)
• select base point G=(x1,y1)
• with large order n s.t. nG=O
• A & B select private keys nA<n, nB<n
• compute public keys: PA=nAG, PB=nBG
• compute shared key: K=nAPB, K=nBPA
• same since K=nAnBG
• attacker would need to find k, hard
 ECC Encryption/Decryption
• several alternatives, will consider simplest
• must first encode any message M as a point on the elliptic curve Pm
• select suitable curve & point G as in D-H
• each user chooses private key nA<n
• and computes public key PA=nAG
• to encrypt Pm : Cm={kG, Pm+kPb}, k random
• decrypt Cm compute:
Pm+kPb–nB(kG) = Pm+k(nBG)–nB(kG) = Pm
ECC Security

• relies on elliptic curve logarithm problem

• fastest method is “Pollard rho method”
• compared to factoring, can use much smaller key sizes than with RSA
etc
• for equivalent key lengths computations are roughly equivalent
• hence for similar security ECC offers significant computational
advantages
Comparable Key Sizes for Equivalent Security

Symmetric ECC-based RSA/DSA

scheme scheme (modulus size
(key size in (size of n in in bits)
bits) bits)
56 112 512
80 160 1024
112 224 2048
128 256 3072
192 384 7680
Pseudorandom Number Generation (PRNG)
based on Asymmetric Ciphers

asymmetric encryption algorithm produce apparently random output

hence can be used to build a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG)
much slower than symmetric algorithms
hence only use to generate a short pseudorandom bit sequence (eg.
key)
 PRNG based on RSA
have Micali-Schnorr PRNG using RSA
in ANSI X9.82 and ISO 18031
 PRNG based on ECC
• dual elliptic curve PRNG
• NIST SP 800-9, ANSI X9.82 and ISO 18031
• some controversy on security /inefficiency
• algorithm
for i = 1 to k do
set si = x(si-1 P )
set ri = lsb240 (x(si Q))
end for
return r1 , . . . , rk
• only use if just have ECC
Summary

• have considered:
• Diffie-Hellman key exchange
• ElGamal cryptography
• Elliptic Curve cryptography
• Pseudorandom Number Generation (PRNG) based on Asymmetric Ciphers
(RSA & ECC)