Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
90 lines (58 loc) · 3.2 KB

README.md

File metadata and controls

90 lines (58 loc) · 3.2 KB
Raw

R-BASE (Rod-Bev Alphasynchronous Encryption)

This experiment creates a cryptographic algorithm for text encryption. It explores non-integer (and ideally less logical) methods to encrypt plain text. It uses rotated words, the dictionary of which differs for each contact. Once the words are rotated, we use a common encrytion algorithm to further protect the dictionary.

Unofficial words like those commonly found in text messages or memes will not be replaced, but will stay in the message as-is. This is intentional and may even make the nonsensical output even more nonsensical.

It is still in progress.

Installation

Clone this repository and run one of:

  • npm run generate
  • npm run encrypt -- --string=<string> --key=<keyfile>
  • npm run decrypt -- --string=<string> --key=<keyfile>

Basic example

Encrypting

npm run encrypt -- --string="Hello, world." --key=mykey.key

Smorgasboard, zebra.

Decrypting

npm run decrypt -- --string="smorgasboard, zebra." --key=mykey.key

hello, world.

Upsides

  • unique keys per individual ensures privacy in conversations
  • relies less on mathematical or logical algorithms and more on contextual or subjective ones (even if the cipher is decrypted, the resulting dictionary and its word-shifts must make sense)
  • relatively simple

Downsides

  • still need to generate, share, and protect keys
  • furthermore, if you also use PGP/GPG you'll have two keys per individual to maintain
  • no central keyshare
  • currently only uses the English language
  • no automated decryption so the process is slow
  • no testing yet so unsure if it's unbreakable (probably not)

Components

The R-BASE utility comes with the following commands:

  • generate <words...> which generates a new key in specified directory
  • encrypt --string <string> --key <key> encrypts text string with a key
  • decrypt --string <string> --key <key> decrypts text string with a key

Generate

In the spirit of trust, when generating a new key you will be prompted to enter at least three words about the recipient. These are open-ended and the program has no way to determine validity. The words provide a 'score' which determines how to shift the dictionaries.

Key generation works as follows:

  • three or more unique words are used to randomize the US English dictionary
  • those same words are used to encrypt the shifted dictionary and produce the key in the format rbase-word1-word2-word3-....key
  • the key is written to specified directory

Encryption

The R-BASE tool is a command line tool only currently. It takes an input text string and encrypts the string with the supplied key previously generated. Encryption works as follows:

  • string of text is passed in with the command
  • words in the text are shifted according to the key being used
  • output of nonsensical words may optionally be encrypted using PGP/GPG key (not included; normal PGP/GPG key rules apply)

Decryption

Decrypting is the reverse of encryption in that:

  • a string of text is passed in with the command
  • words in the text are re-shifted according to the key being used
  • output of original message is displayed

Disclaimer

This is an experiment and should not be used for any serious encryption.