Ask HN: Decryption with Pen and Paper

3 points by daenz 4y ago ↗ HN

Is there any secure method for symmetric or asymmetric encryption that can be performed by hand, and is still resilient to computing resources? Suppose I want to record a secret on paper and decrypt it only with a passphrase that I know, or a private key that I have tattooed on my body. Is this feasible?

2 comments

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simplicialset 4y ago ↗

You should look into handycipher: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2014/04/a_new_pencil-....

vivegi 4y ago ↗

One time pads.

Key distribution is done out of band. For eg: n-th character of prime numbered paragraphs in the book Bleak House by Dickens is the key.

True to its name, never reuse the one-time-pad between messages.