Jon wrote:
<,289625,sid14_cid591441_tax292741,00.html>
Thank you Sir. This is what I was looking for. :)
Another good explanation was given by Mark Wooding on sci.crypt:
So, triple DES involves three keys, K1, K2, K3. Write
single-DESencryption with a key K and plaintext block x as E(K, x), and
decryption as D(K, x). Triple DES encryption is E(K3, D(K2, E(K1,
x))).
Suppose you're given a plaintext block x and corresponding ciphertext
y. For each possible K3, compute D(K3, y), and store the result in a
table. This takes about 2^56 work, and uses 2^56 blocks of memory.
Now, for each pair K1, K2, compute D(K2, E(K1, x)). If this matches
one of the values in the table, find the corresponding K3, and test the
whole key against some other plaintext/ciphertext pairs. Continue
until you're done. This step takes no extra memory and requires 2^112
time.
In Peace,
Saqib Ali