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ISSI: Hummingbird Is 'Secure'Nov 01, 2009 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- In a recent analysis of Revere Security's Hummingbird cryptographic algorithm, Information Security Systems Inc. (ISSI) reported that they believe the Hummingbird is "secure". Revere Security submitted Hummingbird for ISSI's cryptographic algorithm testing, and the findings were published in an April report titled, "An Analysis of the Hummingbird Cryptographic Algorithm." The report represents the outcome of approximately 1,000 hours of collaborative work by a team of four ISSI cryptanalysts, each with over 30 years of real-world experience working with the National Security Agency (NSA) or other security organizations. In their intense testing, Hummingbird was found to have no vulnerability to sub-exhaustive cryptanalytic attacks as well as linear and differential attacks. Since no viable attacks were found during their research, ISSI reported that after "a substantial effort," Revere Security's Hummingbird algorithm "can be recommended with some confidence." "ISSI is one of the world's foremost authorities in information assurance, and the fact that ISSI, through its rigorous testing, wasn't able to find any vulnerability with our Hummingbird algorithm speaks volumes about its strength," said Rick Stephenson, president and CEO at Revere Security. "ISSI recruits the best of the best when it comes to attacking systems and finding vulnerabilities in algorithms, developing a reputation for the highest quality evaluations of cryptographic algorithms and communications protocol. For the last twenty years, commercial clients have trusted ISSI to evaluate their new security product being produced or review the security product the company wants to adopt, and the ISSI teams are notorious for identifying the flaws quickly and economically. It's an extreme compliment to Revere Security and our Hummingbird algorithm that ISSI pronounced it to be secure." ISSI also noted in its report that the Hummingbird's encryption procedure modernizes the classic rotor machine, which gives it the advantage of performing with minimal processing requirements and power usage. The report notes that Hummingbird "seems particularly appropriate for use within resource-constrained environments such as wireless sensors and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags." It also adds that the algorithm may be implemented in a small number of gates, and cipher text can be produced in a minimum number of clock ticks. Revere Security said it will use Hummingbird to deliver a multitude of benefits across technologies like radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies, wireless sensor networks, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile computing, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and identification cards such as the Enhanced Driver's License (EDL). Report Information: http://www.reveresecurity.com/resources. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |