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0 pointsthrow0101a6y ago0 comments

> There are still some differences. NIST provides some curves and doesn't explain much about them. You can read up how DJB choose the curves. It's a very neat and tidy process that is easy to follow and very reasonable.

You're not wrong, but to paraphrase a famous quotation: No body every got fired for following Suite B.

AES, SHA-2, and the NIST curves are approved for government crypto, and are also probably in many industry regulations. If there's ever an incident and a post-mortem audit, then it's a lot easier to explain the choice of Suite B algorithms.

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AnaniasAnanas6y ago

Nobody was ever fired for using DJB. Meanwhile I would gladly fire someone for using AES128 or the NSA-sponsored curves, despite being in Suite B.

throw0101aOP6y ago

> Meanwhile I would gladly fire someone for using AES128 or the NSA-sponsored curves, despite being in Suite B.

Why? Pointing SSL Labs at my bank, it's what they use (ECDH secp256r1). What does your bank use? Or is there a site that you consider more important than that one?

Would you fire the folks at Let's Encrypt, who only offer certs of RSA and P-{256,384}? Gmail, where they do offer x25519, but where most browsers use secp256r1?

AnaniasAnanas6y ago

Banks are not known for using the best/safest solutions. Just take 4 digit pins and 3DES into account for example.

> who only offer certs of RSA and P-{256,384}?

I am pretty sure that nginx and openssl only recently added support for ed25519 certificates. Although to be honest I don't really like the idea of let's encrypt. The addressing system that tor uses has solved that issue already.

> but where most browsers use secp256r1?

This is an issue. Browser vendors should prioritize the djb algorithms.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsthrow0101a6y ago0 comments

You're not wrong, but to paraphrase a famous quotation: No body every got fired for following Suite B.

0 comments

AnaniasAnanas6y ago

Nobody was ever fired for using DJB. Meanwhile I would gladly fire someone for using AES128 or the NSA-sponsored curves, despite being in Suite B.

throw0101aOP6y ago

> Meanwhile I would gladly fire someone for using AES128 or the NSA-sponsored curves, despite being in Suite B.

Why? Pointing SSL Labs at my bank, it's what they use (ECDH secp256r1). What does your bank use? Or is there a site that you consider more important than that one?

Would you fire the folks at Let's Encrypt, who only offer certs of RSA and P-{256,384}? Gmail, where they do offer x25519, but where most browsers use secp256r1?

AnaniasAnanas6y ago

Banks are not known for using the best/safest solutions. Just take 4 digit pins and 3DES into account for example.

> who only offer certs of RSA and P-{256,384}?

> but where most browsers use secp256r1?

This is an issue. Browser vendors should prioritize the djb algorithms.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse