Re: Into the Fire

From: Kev (kev_at_novercia.f9.co.uk)
Date: 07/28/03 

Date: 28 Jul 2003 04:02:22 -0700

"MacGregor K. Phillips" <mkp@topsecretcrypto.com> wrote in message news:<bg2247$jfbfn$1@ID-201989.news.uni-berlin.de>...
> Since I have been watching this newsgroup for awhile I guess it is about
> time to introduce my self and jump into the fire so to speak....

Why do people insist on trying to invent their own algorithms or do a
'one time pad' when it's obviously such a non-starter?

The way I see it, if you're going to write your own crypto program,
you should go along with what the experts say and use known, trusted
algorithms. If you use a home-grown proprietary algorithm or a pretend
'one time pad' , people just won't trust your program. I think the
perceived wisdom at the moment is that you should use SHA-1 > AES. If
you're weary of AES because it's relatively new, you could use 3DES or
Blowfish instead.

The point is we already have trusted, strong algorithms so there's
really no point trying to re-event the wheel. Your time would be
better spent getting the encryption *right*, and then concentrating
on giving your program a unique selling point, such as how it
incorporates countermeasures to defeat certain side-channel attack(s).
Like forensic data recovery, or key logging, or Van Eck/hidden camera
monitoring. People might then be interested in buying your program.

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