Commercial cryptographic technology refers to the technology that can implement encryption, decryption, and authentication functions of commercial cryptographic algorithms (including programming technology for cryptographic algorithms and implementation technologies for cryptographic algorithm chips, encryption cards, etc.). Commercial cryptographic technology is the core of commercial cryptography, and the state has classified commercial cryptographic technology as a national secret. Any unit or individual has the responsibility and obligation to protect the secrets of commercial cryptographic technology.
The application fields of commercial cryptography are very broad, mainly used for encrypting and protecting internal information, administrative affairs information, economic information, etc., which do not involve national secrets but have sensitivity. For example, commercial cryptography can be used for transmission encryption and storage encryption of various sensitive information within enterprises, preventing illegal third parties from obtaining the information content; it can also be used for various security authentications, online banking, digital signatures, and so on.To ensure the security of commercial cryptography, the National Commercial Cryptography Administration has formulated a series of cryptographic standards, including SM1 (SCB2), SM2, SM3, SMS4, SM7, SM9, and the Zu Chongzhi cryptographic algorithm, etc. Among them, SM1, SMS4, SM7, and the Zu Chongzhi cryptographic algorithm are symmetric algorithms; SM2 and SM9 are asymmetric algorithms; SM3 is a hash algorithm. Below is a brief introduction to these algorithms.
01
SM1 Algorithm
SM1, also known as SCB2, is a block cipher algorithm approved by the National Cryptography Administration, with both block length and key length of 128 bits. The security strength and related hardware and software implementation performance of the algorithm are comparable to AES, and it is not publicly disclosed, existing only in the form of IP cores in chips. A series of security products such as chips, smart IC cards, smart cryptographic keys, encryption cards, and encryption machines have been developed using this algorithm, widely applied in electronic government, e-commerce, and various fields of the national economy (including important areas such as national government communication and police communication).
02
SM2 Algorithm
SM2 is a public key cryptographic algorithm based on elliptic curves, used in China’s commercial cryptography system to replace the RSA algorithm. Currently, there are over 1,000 products supporting the SM2 algorithm, widely applied in electronic government, mobile office, e-commerce, mobile payments, electronic certificates, and other infrastructure and cloud services.
03
SM3 Algorithm
SM3 is a cryptographic hash function standard adopted by the government of the People’s Republic of China, mainly used for digital signatures and verification, message authentication code generation and verification, random number generation, etc. The algorithm is public, with security and efficiency comparable to SHA-256. This algorithm has become the foundational technology for information security in various fields such as electronic signature cryptographic systems, computer secure login systems, computer secure communication systems, digital certificates, network security infrastructure, secure cloud computing platforms, and big data.
04
SMS4 Algorithm
SMS4 is a block cipher algorithm, with both block length and key length of 128 bits. The encryption algorithm and key expansion algorithm both use a 32-round non-linear iterative structure. Initially released as a password algorithm for wireless local area networks, it has since become an industry standard for block cipher algorithms. Currently, there are over 700 products supporting the SMS4 algorithm, covering various applications with symmetric encryption needs. Since SMS4 was initially used in the WAPI protocol for wireless local area network chips, there are over 350 models of WAPI wireless local area network chips supporting SMS4, with a cumulative global shipment exceeding 7 billion units. In the financial sector, the shipment volume of smart cryptographic keys supporting SMS4 has exceeded 150 million units. Additionally, SMS4 has been included in the Trusted Platform Module Library Specification (TPM 2.0) released by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG).
05
SM7 Algorithm
SM7 is a block cipher algorithm with a block length and key length of 128 bits. SM7 is suitable for contactless IC cards, with applications including identity recognition applications (access control cards, work permits, competition certificates), ticketing applications (tickets for large events, exhibition tickets), and payment and card applications (points consumption cards, campus cards, enterprise cards, etc.).
06
SM9 Algorithm
SM9 is an identity-based cryptographic algorithm. Since the SM9 algorithm standard was released later (April 2016), the number of products supporting the SM9 algorithm is still small (6 products). However, due to the flexibility and ease of use of IBC technology, the demand for SM9 applications is very strong. The SM9 algorithm does not require the application of digital certificates and is suitable for various emerging application security guarantees in internet applications, such as cloud technology-based cryptographic services, email security, smart terminal protection, Internet of Things security, cloud storage security, etc. These security applications can use phone numbers or email addresses as public keys to achieve data encryption, identity authentication, call encryption, channel encryption, and other security applications, featuring convenience of use and ease of deployment. Since the standard was released, manufacturers have begun to develop a series of basic products supporting the SM9 algorithm, such as smart cryptographic keys, identity cryptographic machines, and key management systems, with more application units designing their system solutions based on the SM9 algorithm. It is foreseeable that the SM9 algorithm will play its advantages in a wider range of fields.
07
ZUC Algorithm
ZUC algorithm, also known as the Zu Chongzhi algorithm, is a stream cipher algorithm independently researched in China. Initially designed as a sequence cipher algorithm for 4G LTE air interface encryption, it was adopted as an international encryption standard (3GPPTS 33.401) by 3GPP in 2011, thus ZUC is mainly used in the communication field. According to feedback from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 4G network access testing has required all mobile terminals to support the ZUC algorithm; China Mobile has fully supported the ZUC algorithm for the air interface access requirements of 4G networks and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) networks, clearly stated in the “China Mobile VoLTE Pilot Testing Specification” and “China Mobile Narrowband Internet of Things Security Specification”. Additionally, smart encrypted mobile terminals developed by China Mobile, VOIP voice encryption systems developed by Sanling Ruitong, and link cipher machines developed by Xingtang Communication have also taken the lead in supporting the ZUC algorithm, laying a solid foundation for the further promotion and application of the ZUC algorithm.
Different cryptographic algorithms can meet different security functional requirements. Only with sufficient understanding of these algorithms can they be better applied to serve society.
Information organized from the National Cryptography Administration, images sourced from the internet.