Principles of Cryptography
Cryptography relies on several principles to ensure secure communication. Understanding these principles is crucial for designing robust cryptographic systems:
Kerckhoffs’s Principle: This principle states that the security of a cryptographic system should depend solely on the secrecy of the key, not the algorithm. Publicly known algorithms are generally more reliable because they are scrutinized by the broader cryptographic community.
Shannon’s Maxim (Perfect Secrecy): Proposed by Claude Shannon, this principle asserts that a cryptographic system should be secure even if everything except the key is known to an adversary.
Minimization of Attack Surface: A cryptographic system should minimize the number of points where it can be attacked, such as keeping key management simple and avoiding unnecessary complexity.
Defense in Depth: Cryptographic solutions should be layered, with multiple safeguards to ensure security, even if one mechanism is compromised.