RC4(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation RC4(3)NAMECrypt::RC4 - Perl implementation of the RC4 encryption algorithm
SYNOPSIS
# Functional Style
use Crypt::RC4;
$encrypted = RC4( $passphrase, $plaintext );
$decrypt = RC4( $passphrase, $encrypted );
# OO Style
use Crypt::RC4;
$ref = Crypt::RC4->new( $passphrase );
$encrypted = $ref->RC4( $plaintext );
$ref2 = Crypt::RC4->new( $passphrase );
$decrypted = $ref2->RC4( $encrypted );
# process an entire file, one line at a time # (Warning: Encrypted file
leaks line lengths.)
$ref3 = Crypt::RC4->new( $passphrase );
while (<FILE>) {
chomp;
print $ref3->RC4($_), "\n";
}
DESCRIPTION
A simple implementation of the RC4 algorithm, developed by RSA
Security, Inc. Here is the description from RSA's website:
RC4 is a stream cipher designed by Rivest for RSA Data Security (now
RSA Security). It is a variable key-size stream cipher with byte-
oriented operations. The algorithm is based on the use of a random
permutation. Analysis shows that the period of the cipher is
overwhelmingly likely to be greater than 10100. Eight to sixteen
machine operations are required per output byte, and the cipher can be
expected to run very quickly in software. Independent analysts have
scrutinized the algorithm and it is considered secure.
Based substantially on the "RC4 in 3 lines of perl" found at
http://www.cypherspace.org
A major bug in v1.0 was fixed by David Hook (dgh@wumpus.com.au).
Thanks, David.
AUTHOR
Kurt Kincaid (sifukurt@yahoo.com) Ronald Rivest for RSA Security, Inc.
BUGS
Disclaimer: Strictly speaking, this module uses the "alleged" RC4
algorithm. The Algorithm known as "RC4" is a trademark of RSA Security
Inc., and this document makes no claims one way or another that this is
the correct algorithm, and further, make no claims about the quality of
the source code nor any licensing requirements for commercial use.
There's nothing preventing you from using this module in an insecure
way which leaks information. For example, encrypting multilple messages
with the same passphrase may allow an attacker to decode all of them
with little effort, even though they'll appear to be secured. If
serious crypto is your goal, be careful. Be very careful.
It's a pure-Perl implementation, so that rating of "Eight to sixteen
machine operations" is good for nothing but a good laugh. If
encryption and decryption are a bottleneck for you, please re-write
this module to use native code wherever practical.
LICENSE
This is free software and may be modified and/or redistributed under
the same terms as Perl itself.
SEE ALSO
perl, <http://www.cypherspace.org>, <http://www.rsasecurity.com>,
<http://www.achtung.com/crypto/rc4.html>,
<http://www.columbia.edu/~ariel/ssleay/rrc4.html>
perl v5.14.2 2001-12-13 RC4(3)
