13 Stream ciphers
This chapter covers
- Pseudorandom number generators
- Functions for combining the random numbers with the message
- Generating true random numbers
- Hash functions
Stream ciphers are the opposite of block ciphers. Characters in stream ciphers are enciphered as they are encountered, usually one at a time. The basic concept is to take a stream of message characters and combine them with a stream of key characters to produce a stream of ciphertext characters. This paradigm is well suited for continuous operation where messages are continuously enciphered and transmitted at one end, and continuously received and deciphered at the other end, with no pauses, or only momentary pauses to change keys.
We have already seen a few stream ciphers. ...
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