Algebraic Cryptanalysis of Hidden Field Equation (HFE) Cryptosystems Using Gröbner Bases [chapter]

Jean-Charles Faugère, Antoine Joux
2003 Lecture Notes in Computer Science  
In this paper, we review and explain the existing algebraic cryptanalysis of multivariate cryptosystems from the hidden field equation (HFE) family. These cryptanalysis break cryptosystems in the HFE family by solving multivariate systems of equations. In this paper we present a new and efficient attack of this cryptosystem based on fast algorithms for computing Gröbner basis. In particular it was was possible to break the first HFE challenge (80 bits) in only two days of CPU time by using the
more » ... ew algorithm F5 implemented in C. From a theoretical point of view we study the algebraic properties of the equations produced by instance of the HFE cryptosystems and show why they yield systems of equations easier to solve than random systems of quadratic equations of the same sizes. Moreover we are able to bound the maximal degree occuring in the Gröbner basis computation. As a consequence, we gain a deeper understanding of the algebraic cryptanalysis against these cryptosystems. We use this understanding to devise a specific algorithm based on sparse linear algebra. In general, we conclude that the cryptanalysis of HFE can be performed in polynomial time. We also revisit the security estimates for existing schemes in the HFE family. D. Boneh (Ed.): CRYPTO
doi:10.1007/978-3-540-45146-4_3 fatcat:nwwlvcbeazcibcpvzm2rp5lxt4