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Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.03.01

What additional areas of cryptography does Prof. U. Maurer (ETH Zurich) include beyond the classical symmetric/asymmetric split?

He includes "unkeyed" cryptosystems — primitives that don't rely on secret keys.

The classical view only covers symmetric and asymmetric cryptography. Maurer's broader view adds:

Unkeyed cryptosystems:

  • Hash functions — map arbitrary input to fixed-length output (no key needed)
  • PRNGs (Pseudo-Random Number Generators) — generate seemingly random sequences from a seed
  • One-way functions — easy to compute, infeasible to reverse

Other areas often missing from simple taxonomies:

  • Key management
  • Protocols
  • Secure computation
  • Implementation attacks (side channels)

This reflects how modern cryptography has grown far beyond just "encrypting messages."

From Quiz: KRYPTOG / Introduction to Cryptology | Updated: Mar 01, 2026