Manuscript:

    Samuel R. Buss, Peter N. Yianilos.
    "Secure Short-Key Cryptosystems: Forty Bits is Enough."
    Unpublished manuscript.

    Download article: postscript or PDF.

    Abstract: This paper introduces a method of implementing secure cryptosystems which use short secret keys, as short as 40 bits or less. The use of short keys has the advantage that keys can be readily memorized and do not need to be written down or stored electronically. Nonetheless, our short key cryptographic protocols provide security comparable to the security provided by conventional cryptosystems with longer keys.
    The principle new component of short key cryptosystems is the use of   a "slow one-way''  function which converts a short secret key into an expanded key which can be used in a conventional (long key) cryptosystem. An auxiliary, non-secret key is used to ensure security and gives greater flexibility to short key cryptosystems.
    Short key cryptosystems can be used as either public or private key cryptosystems.

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