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Algorithms for reducing the scope of a brute force attack on a cryptosystem?

cx flag

I understand that during a brute force attack on a cryptosystem, an attacker is left with many, many, junk files, some which are partially readable (depending on the crypto algorithm used), and 1 which produces completely readable plaintext. A human must then search through these junk files and pick out the one that has readable plaintext.

Are there any algorithms which can be used to reduce this search size and say "that file is junk, don't bother. Or, "this one may be correct" and so on?

kelalaka avatar
in flag
Welcome to [cryptography.se] There is a `string` command in Linux. Also, any non-printable characters are false alarms. That really depends on the target message space if binary good luck. What is the encryption algorithm?
Kevin DeCara avatar
cx flag
I mean to ask the question for brute force attacks in general, without a specific encryption algorithm. I'm working on a personal project to learn cryptography where I program various encryption algorithms and their modes of attack via brute force or through analysis.
kelalaka avatar
in flag
The answer is not related to the encryption algorithm rather the input space knowledge! ( I was meant to the mode of operation) See [RSA DES Challenges](https://crypto.stackexchange.com/a/64866/18298). What if I use a fixed compression algorithm before encryption that has many parameters to search for...
kelalaka avatar
in flag
Also see [Distinguishing the correct IV from incorrect IV in AES CBC when key is known](https://crypto.stackexchange.com/a/96525/18298)
Kevin DeCara avatar
cx flag
The discussion you provided is as close as I'm going to get, thank you.
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