Uncomplicated cryptography frameworks base on CommonCrypto

by iOS Example

Keys - Keys of data encryption

Uncomplicated cryptography frameworks base on CommonCrypto.

Example

	let password = Password("Secret")
	let key = SymmetricKey()
	password.encrypt(data)
	let data = "Hello World!".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!
	let encryptedData = key.encrypt(data)
	let decryptedData = key.decrypt(encryptedData)
	print(decryptedData) // "Hello World!"

Keys is a data encryption framework for iOS / OS X. It's simplifies the most difficult parts of CommonCrypto, so you don't have to deal with those head stretching interfaces on your own.

Keys is design to work with Best practice encryption only. If you are not familiar with Master Key encryption and Public Key cncryption, Please read the following materials to learn about how iMessage and 1Password protect your data.

Three type of Keys

There're three kind of keys in the framwork. Use them according to what you are encrypting.

  • Symmetric Key for encrypting / decrypting local data saving in the same device
  • Asymmetric Keys for encrypting / decrypting data need to be transfers between devices or servers.
  • Password for encrypting / decrypting Symmetric Keys

Best practice

Carthage

Please intall Carthage then insert the following code into your Cartfile.

	github "remaerd/Keys"

Encrypting local data

When you need to encrypt a piece of data. You need to create a SymmetricKey object to encrypt the data. Then, create a Password object from users' String password. Finally, encrypt the SymmetricKey object with the Password. Encrypting your users's data with String password is consider dangerous and naïve, please never do this. Again, You must NOT encrypt data with users' String password.

Creating Password object

	let password = Password("Hello")
	let salt = password.salt
	let rounds = password.rounds
	let data = password.data

When you create a new Password object with String. A random salt and rounds number will be generated with it.
You need to save the salt and rounds data locally, or you will create different Password object with the same String.

Do NOT save the password.data locally, or hackers will decrypt users' data by decrypting other encryption keys without the password.

Creating SymmetricKey object

	let key = SymmetricKey()
	let encryptionKey = key.cryptoKey
	let iv = key.IV
	let hmacKey = key.hmacKey

When you are encrypting local data. You will need a SymmetricKey object to encrypt your data. Random Data will be generate safely, and you need to save the cryptoKey, IV and hmacKey of a SymmetricKey if you need to use the same SymmetricKey later.

Encrypting data

	let key = SymmetricKey()
	let data = "Hello World!".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!
	do {
		let encryptedData = try key.encrypt(data)
		print(encryptedData)
	} catch {
		print("Cannot encrypt data")
	}

Decrypting data

	let key = SymmetricKey(key: keyData, hmacKey: hmacData, IV: IVData)
	do {
		let decryptedData = try key.decrypt(data)
		print(decryptedData)
	} catch {
		print("Cannot decrypt data")
	}

Encrypting data between devices / servers

When you need to encrypt data between devices, 'AsymmetricKeys' is the only option. Imagine there're two keys for one safe. You open a safe with a key and put gold into it. And you give a different key to someone you trust, then he can open the safe with a different key, but he can't put gold into your safe.

Creating AsymmetricKeys object

	let keys = AsymmetricKeys.generateKeyPair()
	let publicKey = keys.publicKey
	let privateKey = key.privateKey

When your create a pair of AsymmetricKeys, a publicKey and a privateKey will be generated. So you can use them to encrypt data, then send the other key and encrypted data to third-parties.

It's a good practice to generate two pair of AsymmetricKeys, so you can encrypt / decrypt / sign / validate your data with these four keys.

CommonCrypto vs. OpenSSL

If you use AsymmetricKeys.generateKeyPair() to generate AsymmetricKeys. those keys only works between iOS devices. If you need to use those keys between servers or Android devices. you need to use OpenSSL to create RSA Asymmetric Keys.

To encrypt iOS devices' data, do this:

	let data = "Hello World!".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!
	let keys = AsymmetricKeys.generateKeyPair()
	let publicKey = keys.publicKey
	let privateKey = keys.privateKey
	do {
		let encryptedData = try privateKey.encrypt(data)
		let decryptedData = try publicKey.decrypt(data)
		print(NSString(data: decryptedData, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding))
		// Hello World
	} catch {
		print("Cannot encrypt data")
	}

If you need to transfer encrypted between iOS Device and your servers. Generate RSA keys like this with the terminal.app

	openssl genrsa -out private.pem 2048
	openssl rsa -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pub

The iOS client get the Public Key and encrypted data. So you can decrypt the data with the public key.

	let data = "Hello World!".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding)!
	let publicKeyData = NSData(contentsOfURL: NSBundle.mainBundle().URLForResource("keys-public", withExtension: "pem")!)!
  let privateKeyData = NSData(contentsOfURL: NSBundle.mainBundle().URLForResource("keys-private", withExtension: "pem")!)!
	do {
		let publicKey = try PublicKey(publicKey:privateKeyData)
		let privateKey = try PrivateKey(privateKey:privateKeyData)
		let encryptedData = try privateKey.encrypt(data)
		let decryptedData = try publicKey.decrypt(encryptedData)
		print(NSString(data: decryptedData, encoding: NSUTF8StringEncoding))
		// Hello World
	} catch {
		print("Cannot decrypt data")
	}

GitHub

https://github.com/remaerd/Keys