Advanced Infrastructure Penetration Testing

Kerckhoffs' principle for cryptosystems

In order to check whether you have a good and secure cryptosystem, a Dutch cryptographer called Auguste Kerckhoffs proposed a set of laws and principles for the design of a secure cryptosystem. These articles were published in an 1883 article, Military Cryptography. If you want to read the full text, have a look at Auguste Kerckhoffs, La cryptographie militaire, Journal des sciences militaires, vol. IX, pp. 5–38 II, Desiderata de la cryptographie militaire, January 1883. Kerckhoffs' six principles for cryptosystems are shown here:

Here are the six principles translated into English :

• The cryptosystem ...