Crypt::Nash - Implementation of Nash Cryptosystem
This is a self-synchronizing cipher feedback stream cipher proposed by John Nash in 1950, just recently declassified.
-- Nash doesn't say anything about the initial state of the bits in the system; here we allow an initial state as part of the key It would be reasonable and interesting to consider other possibilities, such as having a fixed initial state (all zeros), or running the system with "0"'s as input for a while to arrive at an initial state, or ... ??
-- We implement the example given in his note. There is one arrow missing a label; we assume here the missing label is a "+". We also choose an arbitrary starting state as part of the key.
-- There are many interesting open questions about this system; here are some as ``food for thought'': (a) Are there ``weak keys''? (Keys that shouldn't be used?) (b) If the system receives periodic input, it will exhibit periodic output. (E.g. input 001001001001001...) What can be said about the periodicities? (c) How do different guesses about what Nash intended for the starting state affect security? (d) How long can a given bit circulate internally? (e) Can you figure out the permutations and bit-flips if you are allowed to specify inputs to the system, and to reset it to the initial state whenever you like? (Effectively, a chosen ciphertext attack) (f) Is the output of the system balanced (equal number of 0's and 1's) or unbalanced (biased somehow)?
Encrypt bitstring, return ciphertext string
Decrypt bitstring, return ciphertext string
Python Implementation by Ronald L. Rivest (2/17/2012)
Available here http://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.857/2012/files/nash.py
Perl port by Simon Wistow
Distributed under the same terms as Perl itself
To install Crypt::Nash, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.
cpanm
cpanm Crypt::Nash
CPAN shell
perl -MCPAN -e shell install Crypt::Nash
For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.