Difference between revisions of "Encryption Backdoor"

Revision as of 04:48, 23 February 2016

An Encryption Backdoor is the concept of building in an alternative method of accessing data, allowing an unauthorized user to bypass security precautions and undermine the intended purpose of data encryption. Encryption is a form of Information Security where information is manipulated via algorithms, preventing sensitive information from being read if intercepted by an unauthorized recipient. Successful encryption will involve a pseudo-random and complex key possessed by the intended recipient of the information, allowing them to read it. An encryption backdoor has the implications of creating a master key, capable of being replicated to breach a variety of encrypted devices.

History of Encryption

The first documented display of written encryption was utilized in Egyptian hieroglyphs dating back to 1900 BC. Since then, populations around the world have used various means of altering messages to protect invaluable information from being deciphered. ^[1] In 1977, the United States adopted the Data Encryption Standard, a 56-bit key algorithm IBM developed, later modified by the National Security Agency. ^[2] http://www.nist.gov/itl/fips/060205_des.cfm DES was later replaced in by the superior 168-bit key Advanced Encryption Standard, approved in 2001 by the United States government for classified information. ^[3]

Applications

Ethical Implications

See also

• Information Security
• Ethics in Hacking
• Digital Rights Management
• Edward Snowden
• Information Ethics

References

1. ↑ SANS Institute InfoSec Reading Room: History of Encryption https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/vpns/history-encryption-730
2. ↑ Tech News World: A Brief History of Encryption http://www.technewsworld.com/story/70437.html
3. ↑ National Institute of Standards and Technology: NIST Withdraws Outdated Data Encryption Standard http://www.nist.gov/itl/fips/060205_des.cfm