Practical Malware Analysis

Common Cryptographic Algorithms

Simple cipher schemes that are the equivalent of substitution ciphers differ greatly from modern cryptographic ciphers. Modern cryptography takes into account the exponentially increasing computing capabilities, and ensures that algorithms are designed to require so much computational power that breaking the cryptography is impractical.

The simple cipher schemes we have discussed previously don’t even pretend to be protected from brute-force measures. Their main purpose is to obscure. Cryptography has evolved and developed over time, and it is now integrated into every aspect of computer use, such as SSL in a web browser or the encryption used at a wireless access point. Why then, does malware not always take advantage ...