R-BASE (Rod-Bev Alphasynchronous Encryption)

This experiment creates a cryptographic algorithm for text encryption. It explores non-integer (and ideally less logical) methods to encrypt plain text. It uses rotated words, the dictionary of which differs for each contact. Once the words are rotated, we use a common encrytion algorithm to further protect the dictionary.

Unofficial words like those commonly found in text messages or memes will not be replaced, but will stay in the message as-is. This is intentional and may even make the nonsensical output even more nonsensical.

It is still in progress.

Installation

Clone this repository and run one of:

• npm run generate
• npm run encrypt -- --string=<string> --key=<keyfile>
• npm run decrypt -- --string=<string> --key=<keyfile>

Basic example

Encrypting

npm run encrypt -- --string="Hello, world." --key=mykey.key

Smorgasboard, zebra.

Decrypting

npm run decrypt -- --string="smorgasboard, zebra." --key=mykey.key

hello, world.

Upsides

• unique keys per individual ensures privacy in conversations
• relies less on mathematical or logical algorithms and more on contextual or subjective ones (even if the cipher is decrypted, the resulting dictionary and its word-shifts must make sense)
• relatively simple

Downsides

• still need to generate, share, and protect keys
• furthermore, if you also use PGP/GPG you'll have two keys per individual to maintain
• no central keyshare
• currently only uses the English language
• no automated decryption so the process is slow
• no testing yet so unsure if it's unbreakable (probably not)

Components

The R-BASE utility comes with the following commands:

• generate <words...> which generates a new key in specified directory
• encrypt --string <string> --key <key> encrypts text string with a key
• decrypt --string <string> --key <key> decrypts text string with a key

Generate

In the spirit of trust, when generating a new key you will be prompted to enter at least three words about the recipient. These are open-ended and the program has no way to determine validity. The words provide a 'score' which determines how to shift the dictionaries.

Key generation works as follows:

• three or more unique words are used to randomize the US English dictionary
• those same words are used to encrypt the shifted dictionary and produce the key in the format rbase-word1-word2-word3-....key
• the key is written to specified directory

Encryption

The R-BASE tool is a command line tool only currently. It takes an input text string and encrypts the string with the supplied key previously generated. Encryption works as follows:

• string of text is passed in with the command
• words in the text are shifted according to the key being used
• output of nonsensical words may optionally be encrypted using PGP/GPG key (not included; normal PGP/GPG key rules apply)

Decryption

Decrypting is the reverse of encryption in that:

• a string of text is passed in with the command
• words in the text are re-shifted according to the key being used
• output of original message is displayed

Disclaimer

This is an experiment and should not be used for any serious encryption.