Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chess programs appear to be subject to such changes, too. The playing strength
of current computers is certainly due not only to their computation power, but
also to chess theory. These programs have become so efficient because their
development is rewarding: they sell well. Conversely, the only vendor of crypt-
analytic software I know of is AccessData.
1
Their software makes encrypted
files from numerous programs readable again (older versions handled Word-
Perfect, Lotus 1-2-3, Excel, Symphony, Quattro Pro, Paradox, and Word; their
Web site also mentions Microsoft's encrypted EFSD file system). Confirming
what I said above, one of the software's designers said they built wait loops
into the software to make sure people wouldn't be shocked by its real speed
[Hoff]. You will see for yourself in this topic how much the encoding algorithm
of WordPerfect is worth.
Normally, cryptanalysts are satisfied with showing the principle and occasion-
ally demonstrating a program. Easily usable and efficient cryptanalytic software
for more sophisticated algorithms is developed by somebody who deems it
worthwhile — and then the average punter won't get the product. Large corpo-
rations and national intelligence organizations pay more and want to keep the
goodies for themselves.
However, there is at least one sensational exception: [Hoff] mentions that gov-
ernmental agencies in the USA use a program to crack the cipher contained in
pkzip
; more details in Section 5.7.1. You can find such a program on the Web
site at
www.wileyeurope.com/go/cryptology
.
Don't get me wrong: value addition can be achieved when information is
exchanged, and not when it is held back. But carelessly handling the protection
of information can destroy these values — faster today than in the near future.
On the other hand, thanks to cryptology, not only will our world become more
secure, our lives will become more comfortable. Think of electronic payment
systems, electronic elections, or digital signatures. Cryptology will perhaps also
finally help us to download a brief chapter from a textbook (or a soundtrack)
for a few bucks over a computer network rather than having to buy the entire
topic (or CD).
1.3 What This topic Doesn't Cover—Another Story
Security is an endless topic, and the existing literature is accordingly large:
How do I protect my computer/the local area network against unauthorized
1
http://www.accessdata.com. The software is not cheap.
