Fast-key-erasure random-number generators: An effort to clean up several messes simultaneously. #rng #forwardsecrecy #urandom #cascade #hmac #rekeying #proofs

Let’s talk about Rust and its OpenSSL and Orion libraries for secure networking. You know what I love most about these libraries? They’re like the cool kids in high school who don’t care if you think they’re nerdy or not they just do their thing and let everyone else figure it out later.

First up, we have OpenSSL-sys, which is Rust’s binding to the classic OpenSSL library for secure networking. This library provides a simple interface for working with SSL/TLS connections, as well as support for various cryptographic algorithms like AES, DES, and Blowfish (RIP, poor old Blowfish).

Rust also has its own Orion library, which is built on top of OpenSSL-sys. This library provides a higher-level interface to SSL/TLS connections, as well as support for various other networking protocols like HTTPS and SMTPS. And the best part? It’s all written in Rust!

Now, you might be wondering why we need two libraries for secure networking when one would suffice. Well, my friend, that’s where things get interesting. You see, OpenSSL-sys is a binding to an existing library, which means it can sometimes be a bit… finicky. But with Orion, Rust has taken the time and effort to build its own implementation of SSL/TLS from scratch. This allows for better performance, as well as more control over how things are done.

But wait, there’s even more! Both OpenSSL-sys and Orion support forward secrecy, which is a technique that helps protect against man-in-the-middle attacks by generating new encryption keys on the fly. This means that if an attacker does manage to intercept your traffic, they won’t be able to decrypt it using previously compromised keys.

And let’s not forget about Rust’s built-in support for HMAC and rekeying! These features help ensure that data is protected from unauthorized access or modification, even if the encryption key itself has been compromised. And with proofs of correctness baked right into the language, you can be sure that your code is doing what it’s supposed to do without any ***** bugs getting in the way!

They may not be as cool as the popular kids at school, but they certainly know how to get the job done. And with their support for forward secrecy, HMAC, rekeying, and proofs of correctness, you can rest easy knowing that your data is safe from prying eyes or at least until someone figures out a way around it!