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What is Crypto agility?

The ability to switch to another scheme without major redesign of a system when a cryptographic algorithm or key length becomes insecure. It is increased by keeping an inventory of which cryptography is used where, making algorithms selectable through configuration or protocol negotiation, and including algorithm identifiers in data formats. It has been emphasized in migrations away from MD5, SHA-1 and short RSA keys, and in the migration to post-quantum cryptography.

Japanese name: クリプトアジリティ

Crypto agility appears in 1 practice question across 1 topic, including Applied Cryptography.

Field: Applied Cryptography

Try it: questions about Crypto agility

Which of the following is an appropriate measure to increase crypto agility (the property of making cryptographic schemes easy to replace) in system design?

  1. AWrite the cryptographic algorithms and key lengths directly into the program so that nobody can change the settings during operation
  2. BKeep a list of which cryptographic schemes are used where, and make algorithms replaceable through configuration or protocol negotiation
  3. CSince new cryptographic schemes may have defects, keep using only proven schemes that have been in use for more than 20 years
Show answer and explanation

Answer: B. Keep a list of which cryptographic schemes are used where, and make algorithms replaceable through configuration or protocol negotiation

Cryptographic schemes can become insecure as attacks advance, as with MD5, SHA-1 and short-key RSA, and the migration to post-quantum cryptography is another such case. If a scheme is written deep into a program, just finding where it is used takes effort, and replacing it takes many years. Keeping an inventory of which cryptography is used where, including algorithm identifiers in communication and data formats, and making algorithms replaceable through configuration allow migrations to proceed quickly and safely.

Questions that mention Crypto agility (1)

  1. Which of the following is an appropriate measure to increase crypto agility (the property of making cryptographic schemes easy to replace) in system design?

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Related terms

RSA cryptosystem Post-quantum cryptography AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) Authenticated encryption (AEAD) Birthday attack Block cipher mode of operation Certificate authority Diffie–Hellman key exchange Elliptic-curve cryptography Envelope encryption

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