Why isn’t it more popular to increase the p (parallelization) parameter of scrypt?

First of all, the understanding I have of the p parameter in scrypt is that it multiplies the amount of work to do, but in such a way that the additional workloads are independent from each other, and can be run in parallel. With the inter… Continue reading Why isn’t it more popular to increase the p (parallelization) parameter of scrypt?

Length of a stretched gnupg passphrase that is comparable in strength to an unstretched string of 256 random bits

Assume that we want to encrypt a file with gnupg using AES-256 as the encryption algorithm. (Hence, symmetric encryption.)

In this mode, gnupg requires a passphrase from the user. I understand that gnupg then derives from … Continue reading Length of a stretched gnupg passphrase that is comparable in strength to an unstretched string of 256 random bits

What’s the easiest way to benchmark the decryption of my "new format" openssl private key?

Ssh-keygen now supports a new key encryption format with -o, and configurable rounds of key stretching with -a. So I want to pick a -a that takes a chosen amount of time on my system.

But I don’t know how to measure how long… Continue reading What’s the easiest way to benchmark the decryption of my "new format" openssl private key?

Under Armour Reports Massive Breach of 150 Million MyFitnessPal Accounts

Under Armour is getting kudos for disclosing breach within weeks, but concerns remain over an unknown portion of credentials reportedly stored using the weak SHA-1 hashing function. Continue reading Under Armour Reports Massive Breach of 150 Million MyFitnessPal Accounts