Key Threats to Cryptographic Security and Proactive Mitigation Techniques 

Cryptographic security is concerned with securing communications from third parties. This article discusses the key threats to cryptographic security and proactive mitigation techniques.

 

With the growing need for cryptography to protect digital assets and communications, the ever-present security flaws in modern computer systems, and the increasing sophistication of cyber attacks, keeping your cryptographic keys safe and secure has never been more critical or complex. 

 

A compromised key could result in a massive data breach, resulting in reputational damage, punitive regulatory fines, and a loss of investor and customer trust.

 

Before going any further, let’s look into cryptographic security.

 

What is Cryptographic Security?

Cryptographic security is concerned with encrypting information in a way that unintended recipients cannot interpret. 

 

In cryptography, an initial human-readable message, known as plaintext, is transformed by an algorithm or sequence of mathematical operations into what appears to an uninformed observer to be gibberish, known as ciphertext.

 

Cryptographic systems necessitate some technique for the intended recipient to use the encrypted message—usually, but not always, by converting the ciphertext back to plaintext. 

 

What Problems Does Cryptographic Security Solve?

A secure system should provide data confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, and non-repudiation. Cryptographic security, when utilized effectively, can give these assurances. 

 

Cryptographic security can protect the confidentiality and integrity of data both in transit and at rest. It can also authenticate senders and recipients and guard against repudiation.

 

Software systems frequently have numerous endpoints, typically multiple clients and one or more back-end servers. These client/server communications take place over untrustworthy networks. 

 

Communication occurs over open, public networks like the Internet or private networks that external attackers or bad insiders can hack.

 

It can safeguard communications that travel over untrusted networks. An adversary may attempt to carry out two sorts of network attacks. 

 

An attacker using passive attacks simply listens on a network segment and attempts to read important information as it travels. 

 

Passive assaults can be either online (in which an attacker reads the information in real-time) or offline (in which an attacker just collects traffic in real time and examines it later—possibly after decrypting it). 

 

An active attack involves an attacker impersonating a client or server, intercepting communications in transit, and analyzing or changing the contents before forwarding them to their intended destination (or dropping them entirely).

 

Cryptographic protocols such as SSL/TLS provide confidentiality and integrity protections for communications, preventing malicious eavesdropping and tampering. 

 

Authentication safeguards ensure that users are communicating with the systems as intended. Are you, for example, giving your online banking password to your bank or someone else?

 

It can also be used to secure data in transit. Data on a detachable disk or in a database can be encrypted to prevent sensitive data from being disclosed if the physical medium is lost or stolen. 

 

Furthermore, it can provide data integrity protection at rest to identify malicious manipulation.

 

Principles of Cryptographic Security

The most crucial rule is never to try to create your cryptosystem. The world’s most accomplished cryptographers (including Phil Zimmerman and Ron Rivest) consistently design cryptosystems with significant security problems. 

 

To be considered “secure,” a cryptosystem must withstand severe inspection from the security community. Never rely on obscurity or the fact that attackers may be unaware of your system for security. 

 

Remember that malicious insiders and determined attackers will try to compromise your system.

 

When it comes to a secure cryptosystem, the only things that should be “secret” are the keys. Take the necessary precautions to safeguard any keys used by your systems. 

 

Never keep encryption keys in plain text alongside the data they protect. This is analogous to locking your front door and hiding the key behind the doormat. 

 

It will be the first place an attacker looks. Here are three popular ways of protecting keys (from least to most secure):

 

• Keep keys in a filesystem and secure them with access control lists (ACLs). Keep in mind the principle of least privilege.
• Use a second encrypting key (KEK) to encrypt your data encryption keys (DEKs). Password-based encryption (PBE) should be used to produce the KEK. A password known to a few administrators can create a key and bootstrap the cryptosystem using an algorithm such as bcrypt, scrypt, or PBKDF2. This eliminates the need to keep the key unencrypted anywhere.
• A hardware security module (HSM) is a tamper-proof hardware appliance that can securely store keys. Code can make API calls to an HSM to obtain keys or decrypt data on the HSM itself.

 

Use only algorithms, key strengths, and modes of operation that adhere to industry best practices. The advanced encryption standard (AES) (128, 192, or 256-bit keys) is the symmetric encryption standard. 

 

The standard for asymmetric encryption is RSA with elliptical curve cryptography (ECC) with at least 2048-bit keys. 

 

Avoid insecure modes of operation like AES in Electronic Codebook (ECB) mode or RSA with no padding.

 

Key Threats to Cryptographic Security

Cryptography is at the heart of modern business, safeguarding electronic communications and financial transactions, protecting sensitive data privacy, and providing secure authentication and authorization. 

 

New legislation such as GDPR and PSD2, business pressure for digital transformation, cloud usage, and the latest trends in IoT and blockchain/DLT all contribute to the necessity to embed encryption into nearly every application, from toasters to core banking systems!

 

The good news is that when properly constructed, modern cryptographic algorithms are exceedingly resistant to attack; their sole weakness is their keys. 

 

But if a key is compromised, it’s game over! As a result, such cryptographic keys are among your company’s most valuable assets, and they should be managed as such. 

 

Any key’s value equals the total worth of the data and assets it safeguards.

Three kinds of keys must be kept safe and secure;

 

Symmetric keys are commonly used to encrypt large amounts of data using symmetric algorithms such as 3DES or AES; anyone with a secret key can decrypt the data.

 

Private keys are the secret half of public/private key pairs used in public-key cryptography with asymmetric algorithms such as RSA or ECDSA. 

 

Anyone with the private key can decrypt private data, gain unauthorized access to systems, or generate a fraudulent digital signature that appears authentic.

 

Hash keys are used with algorithms such as HMAC-SHA256 to ensure the integrity and authenticity of data and transactions. 

 

Anyone with the secret key can impersonate the originator of the data/transactions and thus modify the original data/transactions or create entirely false data/transactions that any recipient will believe is authentic.

 

Aside from that major threat to Cryptographic security, there are other attacks that face cryptographic security, these attacks can be generally categorized into six groups based on the type of cryptographic system in use and the information provided to the attacker. They are;

1. Brute force attack
2. Ciphertext-only attack
3. Chosen plaintext attack
4. Chosen ciphertext attack
5. Known plaintext attack
6. Key and algorithm compromise

 

Brute force attack

In a cryptographic system, public and private keys are essential for encrypting and decrypting data. 

 

A brute force attack involves a cybercriminal attempting to decipher an encrypted communication or data using a variety of private keys. If the key size is 8 bits, the number of possible keys is 256 (i.e., 28). 

 

To test all 256 possible keys in this attack approach, the cybercriminal must know the algorithm (normally available as open-source software).

Ciphertext-only attack

The attacker gains access to a collection of ciphertext via this attack vector. Although the attacker cannot access the plaintext, the ciphertext can be correctly determined from the collection. 

 

The attacker can occasionally determine the key using this attack approach.

Chosen plaintext attack

The cyber criminal can choose any plaintext data to access the ciphertext in this attack type. It makes resolving the encryption key easier for the attacker. 

 

The differential cryptanalysis conducted on block ciphers is a well-known example of this type of attack.

Chosen ciphertext attack

In this attack model, the cyber criminal analyzes a chosen ciphertext corresponding to its plaintext. The attacker attempts to gain a secret key or system information. 

 

The attacker attempts to guess the key by examining the chosen ciphertext and comparing it to the plaintext. This attack was possible with older versions of RSA encryption.

Known plaintext attack

Using information-collecting tactics, the cyber criminal discovers or knows the plaintext of some portions of the ciphertext in this attack strategy. 

 

One such example is linear cryptanalysis in block cipher.

Key and algorithm compromise

By examining the cryptographic algorithm, the attacker attempts to recover the key to encrypt or decrypt the data.

 

Proactive Mitigation Techniques for Cryptographic Security Threats

So, how can you combat these dangers and keep your keys (and your business) safe?

 

The only way to effectively mitigate these threats is to utilize a dedicated electronic key management system, preferably a mature, established solution from a credible source with solid client references. 

 

A hardware security module (HSM) should be used in any such key management system to produce and safeguard keys and underpin the overall system’s security. 

 

A well-designed system will provide the following advantages:

 

• Full lifecycle management of keys
• Generation of strong keys using a FIPS-certified RNG and hardware entropy source
• Protection of keys using a tamper-resistant HSM
• Strict policy-based controls to prevent the misuse/reuse of keys
• Automatic key rotation
• Automatic secure key distribution
• The ability to securely import/export keys in components or under a transport key
• The ability to securely destroy keys at the end of their lifecycle
• Strong user authentication, segregation of duties, and dual control over critical operations
• Intuitive user interface and secure workflow management to minimize the risk of human error
• Support for high-availability and business continuity
• Tamper-evident audit log, usage log, and key histories for demonstrating compliance
• Ability to respond quickly to any detected compromise

 

Such a system will help safeguard your keys and increase efficiency, minimize dependency on highly skilled individuals, and achieve, maintain, and demonstrate compliance with many standards and regulations, including GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOX, and ISO 27001.

 

Final Thoughts

Investment in cryptographic security is already increasing; according to Technavio, the encryption management solutions market will grow by US$ 6.07 billion at a 17 percent CAGR between 2020 and 2025. 

 

Cryptography attacks are a severe danger to any organization’s security. Organizations may secure their data and communications by knowing the various forms of attacks and implementing preventative measures.