Ask HN: Decryption with Pen and Paper

Posted by daenz on Wednesday March 23, 2022 @06:19PM
from the ask-hn dept.

Is there any secure method for symmetric or asymmetric encryption that can be performed by hand, and is still resilient to computing resources? Suppose I want to record a secret on paper and decrypt it only with a passphrase that I know, or a private key that I have tattooed on my body. Is this feasible?

( 2 comments | 3 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Decryption with Pen and Paper by simplicialset on Wednesday March 23, 2022 @06:30PM (#30784387)

You should look into handycipher: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2014/04/a_new_pencil-....

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Decryption with Pen and Paper by vivegi on Thursday March 24, 2022 @01:53PM (#30793263)

One time pads.

Key distribution is done out of band. For eg: n-th character of prime numbered paragraphs in the book Bleak House by Dickens is the key.

True to its name, never reuse the one-time-pad between messages.

[ Parent | on HN ]