XOR Encryption With Python
XOR encryption is a great solution to go with when a task requires that a piece of data is encrypted with a key when one doesn't have the means to use a more well-rounded algorithm. I've used it on a few occasions with great success. In this document, we'll discuss how to code the XOR cipher in Python and we'll cover the pros and cons of using it.
The Code
from itertools import izip, cycle def xor_crypt_string(data, key): return ''.join(chr(ord(x) ^ ord(y)) for (x,y) in izip(data, cycle(key)))
The code for XOR string encryption is surprisingly simple since the whole concept of XOR encryption is simple. Basically, it iterates over a piece of data, and for every letter, it XORs it with the key. In this function, it is done in a list comprehension. Once the list is built, it gets joined into a string and returned. Encryption and decryption both use the same function.
Examples
my_data = "Hello. This is a secret message! How fun." my_key= "firefly" # Do the actual encryption encrypted = xor_crypt_string(my_data, key=my_key) # This will obtain the original data from the encrypted original = xor_crypt_string(encrypted, key=my_key)
The Good
XOR encryption is a very quick way to encrypt/decrypt strings based on a key. They're perfect for cases where you'd like to transfer data safely (but not too safely. Read the next section). Furthermore, the XOR cipher needs only one function that does both encrypting and decrypting. For instance, in the above code if you encrypt something and then feed it directly back into the function with the same key, it'll produce the unencrypted data. Also, the XOR cipher is considered the only perfect encryption method under the proper scheme for a one-time pad. (There are exceptions. Keep reading…)
The Bad
Okay, remember when I said that it can be a perfect encryption? Well, that comes with a few limitations. Namely, the key must be completely random, the key must be the length of the data being encrypted, and the key can be used once and only once. If those rules aren't followed, then the cipher can be broken using frequency analysis.
The Right Way
Use the Python Cryptography Toolkit. It provides you with plenty of other methods to use instead of XOR encryption. A manual can be found here. Of course, doing it this way causes your code to become less portable since anybody you send it to will also be required to have the toolkit installed.
Jordan wrote,
Here is a function written in python using xor encryption. The file target is a file path (i.e., /root/myfile.txt) and the key can be one of two things: a simple text password ("mypassword") or a path to a file to be used as a key("/root/myKey.key"). I do not have izip, so I commented out the list comprehension you gave on this site.
Dan wrote,
The one-time pad is the only cipher known to be 100% secure, because there is no way to determine that any given key is correct. The problem with trying to cryptanalyze (break) such a cipher as this is that you can never be sure that you actually have the correct key. Like you said, though, this cipher requires a key with the same length as the plaintext (unencrypted text) that is never reused and has perfect randomness. The funny thing about randomness is this: There's no good test for it!
Consider this sequence of numbers: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
That sequence looks very non-random, but it's impossible to tell if that was generated by repeating the number 1, by picking numbers randomly from a hat or from one's mind, by choosing from a limited set of numbers using a poor random number generator, by choosing from an infinite set of numbers using a perfect random number generator…
And of course, how do you transmit the keys safely? ;)
san wrote,
hi,
any one help me to brak 256 byte key
Todas as possibilidades de maiusculas e minusculas wrote,
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