Are there any theoretical forms of encryption that cannot be cracked? With the advent of Quantum computers busting SHA-512 encryption in the blink of an eye (only partially exaggerated) are there theoretical algorithms or methods to encrypt data in a way that it cannot be cracked?
I'm assuming this would involve secret functions (it cannot be cracked if the function used is unknown to the attacker)?
Is computer science or mathematics the better educational path to take to enter a field involving cryptography?
6 Responses
There is no encryption yet known that can't be brute forced. It's simply a matter of CPU cycles and time.
Definitely, choose mathematics if you want to be a cryptographer.
Yes, there is. Look into perfect encryption. But that might not be really what you're looking for a practical use...
An unbreakability of an algo is not based on its secrecy, but it's purely based on his math, and this should answer 2) & 3)
Yes, a one-time pad can not be brute forced, but it is not practical for most applications.
For a one-time pad to be secure, must the key be transmitted physically to protect from sniffing, etc?
Here's the first paragraph on Wikipedia on one-time-pads. Unbreakable IF all the conditions are met and the conditions are VERY impractical.
In cryptography, the one-time pad (OTP) is an encryption technique that cannot be cracked if used correctly. In this technique, a plaintext is paired with a random secret key (also referred to as a one-time pad). Then, each bit or character of the plaintext is encrypted by combining it with the corresponding bit or character from the pad using modular addition. If the key is truly random, is at least as long as the plaintext, is never reused in whole or in part, and is kept completely secret, then the resulting ciphertext will be impossible to decrypt or break.123 It has also been proven that any cipher with the perfect secrecy property must use keys with effectively the same requirements as OTP keys.4 However, practical problems have prevented one-time pads from being widely used.
SHA-512 isn't an encryption.
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