Project information
Identification of weak public keys in the wild

Project Identification
0712/2020
Project Period
7/2020 - 11/2023
Investor / Pogramme / Project type
Ostatní - foreign
MU Faculty or unit
Faculty of Informatics

The focus of the project is on public key algorithms: RSA, DSA, DH, ECDSA, ECDH. Public-key algorithms form a fundamental part of modern cryptography – key exchange and digital signatures are performed using public-key algorithms. Many proposed public-key algorithms do exist, but most of the internet communication is secured by very few of them. Namely RSA, DH, DSA and their alternatives ECDH, ECDSA that work in the standardized elliptic curves (EC) are typically used in practice. Benefits of ECs come with smaller key sizes and more efficient implementations at the same security level when compared to other public-key schemes like RSA. ECs are especially attractive for security applications where computational power and space are limited (e.g., smartcards).

The high level aim is to identify weak keys (public or privates) and their sources in the wild. Associated aims are to assess severity of the flaws and find efficient methods that can be used to identify such keys/sources. We will extend (adapt methods for larger datasets, improve methods) our current and recent research and we plan to examine large datasets (TLS connections, IoT devices, etc.) that would be provided by Cisco.

Sustainable Development Goals

Masaryk University is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to improve the conditions and quality of life on our planet by 2030.

Sustainable Development Goal No.  8 – Decent work and economic growth Sustainable Development Goal No.  9 – Industry, innovation and infrastructure Sustainable Development Goal No.  16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions

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