crypt(1) (Security Administration Utilities) crypt(1)
NAME
crypt - encode/decode
SYNOPSIS
crypt [ password ]
crypt [-k]
DESCRIPTION
crypt reads from the standard input and writes on the standard
output. The password is a key that selects a particular
transformation. If no argument is given, crypt demands a key from
the terminal and turns off printing while the key is being typed in.
If the -k option is used, crypt will use the key assigned to the
environment variable CRYPTKEY. crypt encrypts and decrypts with the
same key:
crypt key <clear >cypher
crypt key <cypher | pr
Files encrypted by crypt are compatible with those treated by the
editors ed(1), edit(1), ex(1), and vi(1) in encryption mode.
The security of encrypted files depends on three factors: the
fundamental method must be hard to solve; direct search of the key
space must be infeasible; ``sneak paths'' by which keys or clear text
can become visible must be minimized.
crypt implements a one-rotor machine designed along the lines of the
German Enigma, but with a 256-element rotor. Methods of attack on
such machines are known, but not widely; moreover the amount of work
required is likely to be large.
The transformation of a key into the internal settings of the machine
is deliberately designed to be expensive, i.e., to take a substantial
fraction of a second to compute. However, if keys are restricted to
(say) three lower-case letters, then encrypted files can be read by
expending only a substantial fraction of five minutes of machine
time.
If the key is an argument to the crypt command, it is potentially
visible to users executing ps(1) or a derivative. The choice of keys
and key security are the most vulnerable aspect of crypt.
FILES
/dev/tty for typed key
SEE ALSO
ed(1), edit(1), ex(1), makekey(1), nroff(1), pg(1), ps(1), stty(1),
vi(1).
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crypt(1) (Security Administration Utilities) crypt(1)
NOTES
This command is provided with the Security Administration Utilities,
which is only available in the United States. If two or more files
encrypted with the same key are concatenated and an attempt is made
to decrypt the result, only the contents of the first of the original
files will be decrypted correctly.
If output is piped to nroff and the encryption key is not given on
the command line then do not pipe crypt through pg(1) or any other
program that changes the tty settings. Doing so may cause crypt to
leave terminal modes in a strange state [see stty(1)].
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