Bristol academics give data security advice

Bristol University announced yesterday that two reports edited by Professor Nigel Smart, its Professor of Cryptology, have now been published by ENISA. The 2 reports are as follows:

• The Algorithms, key size and parameters report 2014 is a reference document providing a set of guidelines for decision makers, in particular specialists designing and implementing cryptographic solutions for commercial online services.
• The Study on cryptographic protocols provides an implementation perspective, covering guidelines regarding protocols required to protect commercial online communications containing personal data.

The reports give guidance to companies, EU member states and the wider community about current best scientific practice in the rapidly advancing field of cryptography.

The first report provides a set of proposals in an easy to use form, with a focus on commercial online services that collect, store and process the personal data of EU citizens.

The second report focuses on the current status in cryptographic protocols and encourages further research. A quick overview is presented on protocols which are used in relatively restricted application areas, such as wireless, mobile communications or banking (Bluetooth, WPA/WEP, UMTS/LTE, ZigBee, EMV) and specific environments focusing on Cloud computing.

The reports, which also had input from a number of members from the Cryptography Research group in the University’s Computer Science Department, provide an update to the 2013 cryptographic guidelines report on security measures required to protect personal data in online systems.