anish-m-code/pqcrypt

PQcrypt : The post-quantum cryptography tool.

Hi there 👋

I am an aspiring Software Engineer from India who is interested in Computer Security , AI and Software Development.

• 🔭 My passion is solving real world Problems by developing efficient Software whenever possible.
• 🌱 Currently focusing on improving my knowledge of Algorithms and Data structures.
• I have basic programming experience in python, C, C++ and SQL.
• 👯 Always ready to collaborate with anyone.
• PGP FINGERPRINT: 34BA 0B8A A9AF 2EB7 7B2A E4F6 D57E FA59 BA33 695F

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pqcrypt's Issues

pqcrypt installation in arch linux is broken

Need to create python virtual environment as in install.sh to ensure run.sh works properly.

Improve pqcrypt installation in fedora

We need to create virtual environment and install required packages in virtual environment , need to modify fedora_install.sh and fedora_run.sh accordingly. we can use build.sh and run.sh as reference.

Use HKDF to derive key using shared secret from PQ-KEMs instead of using shared secret directly as key.

It is a best practice to use KDF like HKDF to derive key directly from shared secret , initially it was considered safe to use shared secret according to discussion below : -

open-quantum-safe/liboqs-python#54

Most KEMs are safe using above approach but for safety side we should implement KDF to derive key as discussed in crypto.stackexchange.com below: -

https://crypto.stackexchange.com/questions/89795/can-a-kem-shared-secret-be-used-directly-as-a-symmetric-key

HKDF can also be used to generate multiple keys from single shared secret which can be helpful in solving issue #5

alaawy

create a mechanism to ensure both sender and receiver of PQcrypt encrypted messages use same version of PQcrypt.

Since PQcrypt is a rolling release software based on liboqs , maybe as soon as we git clone liboqs locally during installation we must run a sha512 hash over the locally cloned repository and use sha512 hash output as build version, this hash should be added in encrypted messages , the receiver should check this build version with his own and discard message if build versions mismatch. This logic has to be done in code, or perhaps if any better mechanism exists we might think over it.

pip refuses and complains installing cryptography and argon2-cffi system wide in debian 12

we should use venv , as its most appropriate to fix this.

No Message Integrity during Encryption and Decryption.

Currently no message authentication codes or Encrypted authentication is present which makes encryption of confidential documents using this program vulnerable to cyberattacks as the ciphertext can be modified by an Attacker.

Implement key committing AEAD or AES-CTR with HMAC-SHA512 in python using cryptography pypi module/package

Currently none of AEAD ciphers in cryptography package support key commitment , but key commitment is a good to have property
refer discussions on https://crypto.stackexchange.com/questions/88716/understanding-the-impact-of-partitioning-oracle-attacks-on-stream-ciphers and https://crypto.stackexchange.com/questions/6075/is-encrypthmac-stronger-than-aead?noredirect=1&lq=1

I strongly believe its worthwhile to implement a key committing AEAD like AES-CTR with HMAC-SHA512 ,its unlikely to suffer major crypto mistakes if coded properly, any future contributors may refer discussion here https://crypto.stackexchange.com/questions/101612/common-pitfalls-to-be-taken-care-of-while-implementing-encrypt-then-hmac-scheme and guidelines here https://github.com/samuel-lucas6/Cryptography-Guidelines to replace AES-GCM used in PQcrypt.

Improve Readme

We must review if we are explaining better what PQcrypt is and how it might be useful to people , Also currently Image of pqcrypt tool shown in readme is broken.

Replace AES-CFB with better block cipher mode or use AEAD

AES-CFB is not popularly used , AES-CTR looks like a better alternative , as far as AEAD is considered AES-OBC and AES-GCM look more promising which is available in cryptography package.

Add support for non-nist algorithms.

Add support for non-nist algorithms and create separate sections so that users can use it if they need it.

Remove post quantum algorithm SIKE

Refer https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/08/sike-once-a-post-quantum-encryption-contender-is-koed-in-nist-smackdown/

Fix no password wrong message displayed in case of incorrect password.

currently if incorrect password is entered , no warning is displayed we have to guess it by checking if document was correctly decrypted or not. We must add a mechanism to show password incorrect to improve usability.