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We propose a decentralized e-voting protocol that is coercion-resistant and vote-selling resistant, while being also completely transparent and not receipt-free. We achieve decentralization using blockchain technology. Because of the properties such as transparency, decentralization, and non-repudiation, blockchain is a fundamental technology of great interest in its own right, and it also has large potential when integrated into many other areas. We prove the security of the protocol under the standard DDH assumption on the underlying prime-order cyclic group (e.g. the group of points of an elliptic curve), as well as under standard assumptions on blockchain robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it possible that a block cipher apparently immune to classical differential cryptanalysis can be attacked considering a different operation on the message space? Recently Calderini and Sala showed how to effectively compute alternative operations on a vector space which can serve as message space for a block cipher such that the resulting structure is still a vector space. The latter were used to mount a linearisation attack against a toy cipher. Here we investigate how alternative operations interact with the layers of a substitution-permutation network and show how they influence the differential probabilities, when the difference taken into consideration is different from the usual bit-wise addition modulo two. Furthermore, we design a block cipher which appears to be secure with respect to classical differential cryptanalysis, but weaker with respect to our attack which makes use of alternative operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Round functions used as building blocks for iterated block ciphers, both in the case of Substitution-Permutation Networks (SPN) and Feistel Networks (FN), are often obtained as the composition of different layers. The bijectivity of any encryption function is guaranteed by the use of invertible layers or by the Feistel structure. In this work a new family of ciphers, called wave ciphers, is introduced. In wave ciphers, round functions feature wave functions, which are vectorial Boolean functions obtained as the composition of non-invertible layers, where the confusion layer enlarges the message which returns to its original size after the diffusion layer is applied. Efficient decryption is guaranteed by the use of wave functions in FNs. It is shown how to avoid that the group generated by the round functions acts imprimitively, a serious flaw for the cipher. The primitivity is a consequence of a more general result, which reduce the problem of proving that a given FN generates a primitive group to proving that an SPN, directly related to the given FN, generates a primitive group. Finally, a concrete instance of real-world size wave cipher is proposed as an example, and its resistance against differential and linear cryptanalyses is also established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a tokenization algorithm of Reversible Hybrid type, as defined in PCI DSS guidelines for designing a tokenization solution, based on a block cipher with a secret key and (possibly public) additional input. We provide some formal proofs of security for it, which imply our algorithm satisfies the most significant security requirements described in PCI DSS tokenization guidelines. Finally, we give an instantiation with concrete cryptographic primitives and fixed length of the PAN, and we analyze its efficiency and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the relation among some security parameters for vectorial Boolean functions which prevent attacks on the related block cipher. We focus our study on a recently-introduced security criterion, called weak differential uniformity, which prevents the existence of an undetectable trapdoor based on imprimitive group action. We present some properties of functions with low weak differential uniformity, especially for the case of power functions and 4-bit S-Boxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show how a small subgroup confinement-like attack may be mounted on the Bitcoin addresses generation protocol, by inspecting a special subgroup of the group associated to point multiplication. This approach does not undermine the system security but highlights the importance of using fair random sources during the private key selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Sometimes it is possible to embed an algebraic trapdoor into a block cipher. Building on previous research, in this paper we investigate an especially dangerous algebraic structure, which is called a hidden sum and which is related to some regular subgroups of the affine group. Mixing group theory arguments and cryptographic tools, we pass from characterizing our hidden sums to designing an efficient algorithm to perform the necessary preprocessing for the exploitation of the trapdoor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: S-Boxes are important security components of block ciphers. We provide theoretical results on necessary or sufficient criteria for an (invertible) 4-bit S-Box to be weakly APN. Thanks to a classification of 4-bit invertible S-Boxes achieved independently by De Cannière and Leander–Poschmann, we can strengthen our results with a computer-aided proof. We also propose a class of 4-bit S-Boxes which are very strong from a security point of view. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]