To say that cryptography today is constituted on arrogance and hubris, is to risk being summarily dismissed by anyone who counts. And it really sounds extreme. After all, our life in cyberspace hinges on the robustness of our cryptography. Without cryptography there is no private communication through the Internet, no online payments, no electricity. Hackers will roll us back to the "cyber stone age" (50 years ago). So all this is hinged on arrogance and hubris?
Cryptography today is constructed on mathematical complexity. The designers of ciphers put forth a mathematical barrier which in their estimation will require their attacker a long time to crack. Long enough for the cipher to protect our assets in the foreseeable future. This underlying assumption implies hubris and arrogance in claiming that we, the designers of cryptography, we are smarter than our attackers. Because if they are smarter, then they can crack our cipher faster than we expect them to, with all the catastrophic implications emerging from it. Note: German cryptographers in WW II fortunately relied on arrogance and were defeated by a smarter mathematician, Alan Turing.
I am running an experiment of sorts. I published a peer-reviewed chapter in a new book about cryptgraphy. I describe dozens of granted patents, all outlining a new class of cryptography. Removing hubris from the picture. Putting cryptography on the right track; proof of secrecy cryptography (POS cryptography): a mathematical foundation. What a difference! with POS cryptography you are not worried any longer about super computers, quantum computers, and mathematical geniuses. Math is not negotiable. No matter how little you are, if your secret is math protected than nobody however big, smart or powerful can compromise your privacy.
Alas, this no-brainer POS cryptography does not draw the attention of the We-Are-Smarter (WAS) cryptography. Decades of inertia. The we-are-smarter premise is so deeply ingrained that POS - Proof of Secrecy -- cryptography is left unseen. (except in China and Russia, they paid attention). For several years now POS is clearly presented, challenging WAS cryptography, but inertia runs strong.
For me it has become a human interest story. How long before someone wakes up? https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/pattern-devoid-cryptography
Comments