Molecular key

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Molecular keys are used in cryptography , the encryption technique that is used for secret communication. A common method for secure communication is the coding of messages with specially manufactured molecular keys.

Steganography with chemistry

In the digital age, cryptography and steganography are gaining in importance and ultimate security is never achieved. In cryptography, a text is encrypted into a ciphertext and decrypted by a recipient. In contrast, with steganography, the fact that a message is being transmitted is hidden. The decryption keys can be transmitted via chemical. The idea of ​​using chemicals goes back to the earliest secret inks . Other substances are now being considered, such as fluorescent molecules, molecular sensors , molecular logic gates, and molecular computer systems. Other approaches are based onNMR shifts , mass spectrometry and gas chromatography , which serve as barcodes for chemical substance identification.

Security through encryption

Molecular keys are useful as cryptographic keys. These are difficult to recognize because the opponent does not know that a key is contained in the molecules, as only the recipient knows where the molecular key is hidden (as secret ink on paper or as part of a perfume). Security is increased by the fact that information is necessary

  • how to extract and analyze a molecule,
  • how to convert the chemical structure into digital information,
  • how to decipher the received information.

Combinatorics

An exemplary database contains 130 substances, for example. If you take all combinations into account, 500,000 molecules can be produced from them in one synthesis. The key results from the sequence of atoms or the structure of an organic molecule. The message is decoded by identifying the molecular key. Mass spectrometry is used for this.

Application example

A molecular key is dissolved in a little methanol and applied to the corner of an envelope with a pipette. The solution is absorbed by the cellulose fiber on the paper surface. The encrypted message is sent in the form of a letter. The letter is then cut up and the molecular key extracted with a solvent and cleaned. The molecular key is identified using common analytical methods. For this purpose, fluorine-labeled molecules that show a characteristic isotope pattern in the mass spectrum are suitable. Analytical chemistry offers various ways of identifying molecular keys. The sender would synthesize a molecule and set the alphanumeric code with the structure of a chemical molecule. For example, the recipient measures a mass spectrum and finds the fluorine-labeled molecule and thus the molecular key required to decipher a message.

literature

  • Maximiliane Fröhlich et al .: Multicomponent reactions provide key molecules for secret communication , in Nature Communications, 9, 1439, 2018, doi: 10.1038 / s41467-018-03784-x .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dooley, JF: Review of prisoners, lovers and spies by Kristie Macrakis , Cryptologia 40, 2016, 107-112
  2. ↑ Challita, K., Farhat, H .: Combining steganogaphie and cryptographie: new directions , Int. J. New. Comput. Archit. Their Appl. 1, 2011, 199-208
  3. ↑ Raphael, AJ, Sundaram, V .: Cryptography and steganographie - a survey. , Int. J. Comput. Technol. Appl. 2, 2011, 626-630.
  4. ↑ Sarkar, T. et al .: Message in a molecule , Nat Commun. 7, 2016, 11374.
  5. ↑ Roy, RK et al .: Design and synthesis of digitally encodes polymers that can be decoded and erased. Nat. Commun. 6, 2015, 7237.
  6. ↑ Maximiliane Fröhlich et al .: Multicomponent reactions provide key molecules for secret communication , in Nature Communications, 9, 1439, 2018, doi: 10.1038 / s41467-018-03784-x