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Cryptomodernization and Suite B
In the last 30 years, public key cryptography has become ubiquitous. As time passes, however,
longer keys and stronger algorithms become essential for long-term information assurance. SPYRUS solves this critical problem with our support for Suite B.
It is time to replace the aging cryptographic infrastructure with algorithms that are significantly faster, more compact, and secure enough to protect valuable and even classified data for the foreseeable future. SPYRUS recommends that users migrate away from the decades-old RSA, triple-DES, and MD5/SHA-1 algorithms to the newer, stronger, faster, and more compact Suite B algorithms, including elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), AES, and SHA-2. SPYRUS is the first company to support these algorithms across its entire product line.
Suite B: Meeting Tomorrow's Threats, Today
Information Security for the Foreseeable Future
The 9/11 terrorist attacks highlighted the need for our federal, state and local government agencies to communicate quickly and securely with one another and with our international allies. Yet the information to be exchanged can have different levels of sensitivity: Some of the information may be classified, some unclassi-fied but sensitive, and some may be meant for public dissemination but must be guaranteed to be authentic.
To address these and other issues, the U.S. government has initiated a multi-billion-dollar cryptographic modernization program. For U.S.-only information, classified Suite A algorithms will be used. Unclassified Suite B algorithms can be used to protect unclassified and classified data, to facilitate information sharing across federal, state, and local governments, and with our allies and multinational coalition partners.
The Suite B Algorithms: ECC, AES, and SHA-2
It is critical to remember that if your information must be kept secret for 50 years, you cannot wait 49 years before encrypting it with a stronger algorithm. You must take into account the likely future capabilities of your adversaries and use appropriate-strength cryptography now to meet that threat.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) understands the importance of protecting valuable data for decades and the need to share information securely with other agencies. The National Security Agency (NSA) has taken unprecedented steps to enable secure information sharing at the domestic and international levels.
In June 2003, the NSA announced that for particular applications, NSA-approved implementations of the Advanced Encryption Standard AES-128 algorithm could be used to protect classified information up to the Secret level, and AES-192 and AES-256 could be used to protect Top Secret data. In October 2003, the NSA licensed 26 key patents in the field of elliptic curve cryptography from Certicom, Inc., for national-security related applications, involving key sizes over 255 bits and FIPS 140-2 certification, among other re-quirements. At the 2005 RSA Conference, the NSA announced that the unclassified Suite B algorithms can be authorized for multinational and domestic information sharing of Secret and Top Secret data with P-384 ECC keys, using the ECMQV or EC Diffie-Hellman key establishment scheme, the ECDSA digital signature algorithm, SHA-384, and AES-256. For FOUO, SBU, LEO, and similar unclassified but sensitive data, P-256 ECC keys, SHA-256, and AES-128 are required. A minimum of P-256, SHA-256, and AES-128 is also recommended for most commercial applications, although very long-term data storage may benefit from the stronger key lengths.
ECC Performance Advantages
From both size and performance standpoints for equivalent security and information assurance, elliptic curve cryptography is the only realistic choice.
- ECC operations are far faster than their RSA equivalents. The time required for an RSA algorithm decryption or signature operation increases with the cube of the key size. To increase the security from a key length of 1024 to 15,360 bits takes 153 = 3,375 times as long. The time required for an ECC key agreement operation also increases with the cube of the key size, but to go from the equivalent 163-bit to 521-bit ECC key requires only 32 times as much work.
- If long-term, high-strength security is the most important factor, the benefits of ECC are even more pronounced. For high security, private key operations must be confined to hardware tokens, including smart cards and HSMs. These devices are limited in available RAM memory and computational power. Generating an 8,192- or a 15,360-bit RSA key on such devices is completely impractical. Key generation of a P-521 key on a LYNKS HSM or Rosetta Series II security device, on the other hand, requires only a few seconds, and the P-384 and P-256 operations are even faster.
SPYRUS Support for the Global Information Grid and Commercial Markets
A key initiative of the cryptomodernization program is the need to secure multinational information sharing with our allies and coalition partners throughout the global information grid. Equally important is the need civilian users have for algorithms that are compact and efficient, and which in some cases can be expected to be secure for 50 years or even longer. Protection of the privacy and authenticity of medical information, adoption records, sealed court records, witness protection information, and census records all require the strongest cryptographic algorithms available, because the protection must last for the remainder of the life of every subject.
SPYRUS anticipates that the Suite B algorithms will be broadly accepted for interoperability within government and commercial organizations worldwide. These algorithms will provide the basis for information assurance and set the standard for both unclassified and selected classified information, as well as sensitive unclassified applications, for years to come.
The entire SPYRUS product line supports Suite B, including the Rosetta Series II USB and Smart Card security devices, the LYNKS Series II HSM (in PCMCIA and USB versions), the newly announced Hydra Privacy Card Series II, Rosetta CSI software, Security In A Box, and the Signal Identity Manager.
Rosetta Series II USB |
Rosetta Series II Smart Card |
Hydra Privacy Card Series II |
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LYNKS Series II HSM
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LYNKS Series II HSM
(PCMCIA) |
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