> If we construct a 3DES-specific key-munging algorithm, it will be > "incompatible" with other software to a certain extent, and that's a > bad thing. I'm just trying to show/make sure that all ciphers _can_ > handle a keys of variable length, so that the user of a crypto library > doesn't need to care about these issues. If the user doesn't need to > care about these issues, the interface doesn't have to be more > complex. I am no cryptographer so there might well be more traps with > such an approach though, so do not expect something like this to > appear right away. I think it would be most beneficial here to definately consult with a real cryptographer if 'we' want to know how to handle this correctly. There may or may not be a paper written somewhere on the issue too. Linux-crypto: cryptography in and on the Linux system Archive: http://mail.nl.linux.org/linux-crypto/
