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TLS-SM4-GCM-SM3 Cipher Suite
A breakdown of the Cipher Suite TLS_SM4_GCM_SM3, its strengths, and its weaknesses.
Cipher
ShangMi 4 - SM4
Grade - C
Algorithms with low adoption do not receive sufficient scrutiny and should generally be avoided, as their vulnerabilities may remain undiscovered. SM4, for instance, is not recommended by RFC 8998 due to concerns over its security and limited peer review. It is better to use well-established algorithms with extensive analysis and widespread acceptance.
Hash
ShangMi 3 - SM3
Grade - C
Algorithms with low adoption do not receive sufficient scrutiny and should generally be avoided, as their security vulnerabilities might remain undetected. SM3, for example, is not recommended by RFC 8998 due to concerns about its robustness and limited peer review. It is advisable to use well-established algorithms that have undergone extensive analysis and testing.
Cipher Mode
Galois/Counter Mode - GCM
Grade - A
GCM (Galois Counter Mode) is a mode of operation for block ciphers, offering both encryption and authentication. Widely used in cipher suites, GCM ensures data confidentiality and integrity with high efficiency and performance. It combines the Counter (CTR) mode for encryption with a Galois field-based authentication tag for data integrity. GCM’s parallelizable nature makes it particularly fast and suitable for high-speed networks and secure communications. By incorporating GCM, cipher suites provide robust security against unauthorized access and tampering, making it a preferred choice for modern cryptographic protocols.