Cryptographic Primitives

Cryptographic primitives are well-established, low-level cryptographic algorithms that are frequently used to build cryptographic protocols for computer security systems. These routines include, but are not limited to, one-way hash functions and encryption functions.

Commonly used primitives

One-way hash function

sometimes also called as one-way compression function—compute a reduced hash value for a message (e.g., SHA-256)

Symmetric key cryptography

compute a ciphertext decodable with the same key used to encode (e.g., AES)

Public-key cryptography

compute a ciphertext decodable with a different key used to encode (e.g., RSA)

Digital signatures

confirm the author of a message

Mix network

pool communications from many users to anonymize what came from whom

Private information retrieval

get database information without server knowing which item was requested

Commitment scheme

allows one to commit to a chosen value while keeping it hidden to others, with the ability to reveal it later

Cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator