[18482] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
[Clips] Microsoft Scraps Old Encryption in New Code
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (R.A. Hettinga)
Fri Sep 16 10:09:26 2005
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 10:01:47 -0400
To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com>
--- begin forwarded text
Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 10:01:23 -0400
To: Philodox Clips List <clips@philodox.com>
From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com>
Subject: [Clips] Microsoft Scraps Old Encryption in New Code
Reply-To: rah@philodox.com
Sender: clips-bounces@philodox.com
<http://www.eweek.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=160307,00.asp>
EWeek
Microsoft Scraps Old Encryption in New Code
September 15, 2005
By Paul F. Roberts
Microsoft is banning certain cryptographic functions from new computer
code, citing increasingly sophisticated attacks that make them less secure,
according to a company executive.
The Redmond, Wash., software company instituted a new policy for all
developers that bans functions using the DES, MD4, MD5 and, in some cases,
the SHA1 encryption algorithm, which is becoming "creaky at the edges,"
said Michael Howard, senior security program manager at the company, Howard
said.
MD4 and MD5 are instances of the Message Digest algorithm that was
developed at MIT in the early 1990s and uses a cryptographic hash function
to verify the integrity of data.
The algorithms are used to create digital signatures and check the
integrity of information passed within Microsoft Corp.'s products.
DES (Data Encryption Standard) is a cipher that is used to encrypt
information that is used in many networking protocols.
All three algorithms show signs of "extreme weakness" and have been banned,
Howard said.
Microsoft is recommending using the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA)256
encryption algorithm and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) cipher instead,
he said.
The change is part of a semi-yearly update to Microsoft's Secure
Development Lifecycle policies by engineers within Microsoft's Security
Business & Technology Unit.
To read more about the importance of encryption, click here.
Developers who use one of the banned cryptographic functions in new code
will have it flagged by automated code scanning tools and will be asked to
update the function to something more secure, Howard said.
Eventually, the company will also remove vulnerable cryptographic functions
from older code, though that will take longer, he said.
"Threats are constantly evolving, so it's important to stay one step
ahead," he said.
"It's about time," added Bruce Schneier of Counterpane Security Inc.
Microsoft should have ended use of DES, MD4 and MD5 "years ago," and is
only being prudent in doing so now, Schneier said.
However, the company's "case by case" approach to banning SHA1 is more
aggressive, considering that theoretical attacks on that algorithm only
appeared in February, Schneier said.
The theoretical attacks on SHA0 and SHA1 were developed by Chinese
researchers and have some experts predicting that those algorithms will
soon be considered too vulnerable to rely on.
The NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has scheduled a
workshop in October to discuss alternatives to SHA1.
Using vulnerable encryption algorithms could expose sensitive data in
Microsoft systems. But attacks on those algorithms are still unlikely,
given other, easier to exploit holes in the software, Schneier said.
"There's just so much that's worse," he said of the other security holes.
--
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
_______________________________________________
Clips mailing list
Clips@philodox.com
http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips
--- end forwarded text
--
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryptography Mailing List
Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo@metzdowd.com
