Cryptography

Return Home

Cryptographic Attacks: A Guide for the Perplexed

When some people hear “Cryptography”, they think of their Wifi password, of the little green lock icon next to the address of their favorite website, and of the difficulty they’d face trying to snoop in other people’s email. Others may recall the litany of vulnerabilities of recent years that boasted a pithy acronym (DROWN, FREAK, POODLE…), a stylish logo and an urgent warning to update their web browser.

Cryptography is all these things, but it’s not about these things. It’s about the thin line between easy and difficult. Some things are easy to do, but difficult to undo: for instance, breaking an egg. Other things are easy to do, but difficult to do when a small, crucial piece is missing: for instance, unlocking your front door, with the crucial piece being the key. Cryptography studies these situations and the ways they can be used to obtain guarantees.