An Application of Genetic Algorithms to the Cryptanalysis of One Round Tea

J.C. Hernández, P. Isasi, and A. Ribagorda (Spain)

Keywords

Cryptanalysis, Genetic Algorithms, Block ciphers, TEA.

Abstract

One of the first objectives of a cryptanalyst is to be able of distinguishing the output of a cryptographic primitive from the output of a random mapping. This seriously affects the credibility of the primitive and in many cases automatically defeats it. In this work, we present a new cryptanalytic technique, which we show is useful in distinguishing a block cipher from a random permutation. This technique is based in the selection of the worst input patterns for the block cipher with the aid of genetic algorithms. The objective is to find which input patters generate a significant deviation of the observed output from the output we would expect from a random permutation. This method is applied over the block cipher TEA reduced to 1 round and some interesting results are presented.

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