A Class of Weak Keys for the QC-MDPC Cryptosystem

Nuh Aydin, Bahattin Yildiz, Suleyman Uludag

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The quasi-cyclic moderate-density parity-check code (QC-MDPC) cryptosystem is one of the recent variants of the original McEliece code-based cryptosystem, that has also been part of the BIKE cryptosystem, which has been submitted to NIST as a post-Quantum cryptosystem candidate. We show that in certain cases the secret key can be recovered from the public key by means of a polynomial factorization. This leads to the concept of "weak keys"for the cryptosystem. Even though the probability of choosing a weak key at random is low, we are able to find weak keys quite easily. This suggests that avoiding weak keys may be introduced as a condition in the implementation of the cryptosystem.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 17th International Workshop on Algebraic and Combinatorial Coding Theory, ACCT 2020
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages19-22
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9781665402873
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 11 2020
Event17th International Workshop on Algebraic and Combinatorial Coding Theory, ACCT 2020 - Vitual, Albena, Bulgaria
Duration: Oct 11 2020Oct 17 2020

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 17th International Workshop on Algebraic and Combinatorial Coding Theory, ACCT 2020

Conference

Conference17th International Workshop on Algebraic and Combinatorial Coding Theory, ACCT 2020
Country/TerritoryBulgaria
CityVitual, Albena
Period10/11/2010/17/20

Keywords

  • McEliece cryptosystem
  • QC-MDPC
  • code-based cryptography
  • polynomial factorization
  • security

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computational Theory and Mathematics
  • Software
  • Algebra and Number Theory
  • Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics

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