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Security comments on the Hwang-Chen algebraic-code cryptosystem

  • Session 8: Block Ciphers
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Book cover Information and Communications Security (ICICS 1997)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1334))

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Abstract

Hwang and Chen have proposed a private-key cryptosystem that provides joint error correction, encryption, and “message” integrity. The scheme is based on algebraic error-correcting codes, using random chaining technique. It was shown that obtaining a combinatorially equivalent code, under ciphertext-only attack, requires O(k2n) operations and O(k2n/2) ciphertexts, where n and k are the length and dimension of the code respectively. It was further claimed that obtaining an equivalent code is not sufficient to “totally” break the system. In this paper, a chosen-plaintext attack is presented that is able to break the system, requiring O[(n - k)2k/2] ciphertexts and O[(n - k)2 k] operations; the attack is based on obtaining a combinatorially equivalent code. Finally, a modified version of the scheme is proposed that overcomes the weaknesses of the original Hwang-Chen scheme; the complexity to break this modified scheme is O(k2n/2) ciphertexts and O(kn2n/2) operations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. KACST-CERI, P.O.Box 6086, 11442, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Mohssen M. Alabbadi

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  1. Mohssen M. Alabbadi
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Yongfei Han Tatsuaki Okamoto Sihan Qing

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag

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Alabbadi, M.M. (1997). Security comments on the Hwang-Chen algebraic-code cryptosystem. In: Han, Y., Okamoto, T., Qing, S. (eds) Information and Communications Security. ICICS 1997. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1334. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0028483

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0028483

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-63696-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69628-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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