4 ms·
Usually the passive eavesdropper is Eve, while the MITM that actively modifies messages is Mallory (she can be defended against by non-malleable cryptography).
by betterunix2 7y ago
Usually the passive eavesdropper is Eve, while the MITM that actively modifies messages is Mallory (she can be defended against by non-malleable cryptography). Also, Charlie is sometimes Catherine, as there is a tendency to alternate genders (Alice, Bob, Catherine, Dave, Eve, etc.).
- faceplanted 7y agoThat's a surprisingly comprehensive ruleset, we always used Alice, Bob, and Carol, possibly continuing with the alternating genders for people in the conversation and Eve for the attacker. Never heard of Mallory. Also reminds me of this: https://xkcd.com/1323/ https://xkcd.com/1323/
- bregma 7y agoThat's OK. Mallory knows who you are.
- betterunix2 7y agoMallory tends to come up in the context of interactive protocols and non-malleability; for example, see this paper on SPEKE: https://eprint.iacr.org/2014/585.pdf https://eprint.iacr.org/2014/585.pdf
- Kalium 7y ago* Alice, Bob, and Carol are generally parties one, two, and three to the conversation. * Eve is a malicious eavesdropper. * Mallory is malicious, and able to participate at will. * Trent is the trusted third party. * Victor is an independent verifier.