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Definition
Special-purpose cryptanalytical hardware refers to computing machines that were specifically designed to accelerate computations needed for cryptanalysis.
Background
Almost all symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic algorithms are merely computationally secure, that is, they can be broken if sufficient computing resources are available. In order to prevent successful attacks, the cryptographic parameters – which include, in particular, the key length – are chosen such that the required number of operations cannot be realized by an attacker. For instance, the key length of 128 bits for symmetric algorithms forces an attacker to perform 2128 encryptions for an exhaustive key search, which is entirely out of reach with current computing technology.
Theory
Cryptanalytical machines are special-purpose computers, which attempt to accelerate the computations involved in cryptographic attacks relatively to standard computers. One should bear in...
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Recommended Reading
Diffie W, Hellman M (1977) Special feature exhaustive cryptanalysis of the NBS data encryption standard. Computer 10(6):74–84
Wiener MJ (1997) Efficient DES key search: an update. Cryptobytes 3(2):6–8
Shamir A (1999) Factoring large numbers with the TWINKLE device. In: CHES ’99: Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems, vol 1717 of LNCS, pp 2–12, Springer, August 1999
Shamir A, Tromer E (2003) Factoring large numbers with the TWIRL device. In: Proceedings of Advances in Cryptology – Crypto 2003, vol 2729 of LNCS, pp 1–26. Springer, 2003
Güneysu T (2009) Cryptography and cryptanalysis on reconfigurable devices. PhD thesis, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany, February 2009. http://www.crypto.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/en_theses.html
Güneysu T, Kasper T, Novotny M, Paar C, Rupp A (2008) Cryptanalysis with COPACOBANA. IEEE Trans Comput 57(11): 1498–1513
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Paar, C. (2011). Special-Purpose Cryptanalytical Hardware. In: van Tilborg, H.C.A., Jajodia, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cryptography and Security. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5906-5_47
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5906-5_47
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