Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.07.14
How does the "old art" view of cryptography compare to the "new science" view?
Old cryptography was about secrecy with heuristic security; modern cryptography is a broad science with formal proofs and public-key systems.
Prof. U. Maurer (ETH Zurich) contrasts these two paradigms:
| Aspect | Old Art | New Science |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Secrecy | Wide range of applications |
| Method | Encryption only | Cryptographic protocols |
| Keys | Bilateral secret keys | Public keys |
| Users | Military applications | Core technology within IT |
| Security | Heuristic (intuitive) security | Definitions and (some) proofs |
| Reliability | Often broken | Often appears unbreakable |
Additional modern concerns beyond this comparison:
- Key size → Secure implementation
- Brute force attacks → Time-memory attacks / side channel attacks
- Moore's Law → Quantum computing threat
Tip: This shift happened roughly in the 1970s — the transition from "secret military art" to "open academic science" is what made modern digital security possible.