Cryptographic Threat Analysis

Abstract

The gradual growth of interest in cryptography during the DES and RSA era is culminating in the introduction by the US government of the new generation of the Skipjack secret algorithm, escrowed keys, the Clipper Chip and Capstone integration of the DSA signature, and public key management. This renewed interest, and a surge in product implementations of cryptography, justify a review of the threats to information that this security technology addresses. Such a review is especially advisable since the current approach to cryptography seems to be intellectual and technical, and fails to adequately consider the realistic threat environment. Cryptography is the most powerful technical means of protecting information from losses of confidentiality and, in some ways, from the loss of availability and utility, integrity and authenticity, and possession. In fact, it is so powerful that misuse of cryptography can cause great damage to the owners and users of faultily encrypted information that can't be decrypted.