[PYTHON-CRYPTO] PEP 272 version 2

[Bram Cohen]

Janusz A. Urbanowicz wrote:

> GNU Privacy Guard has a pluggable block ciphers. SILC has pluggable block
> ciphers.

Note that those are pluggable ciphers, not pluggable modes - I know of
nothing which has pluggable modes.

> In my opinion any program that supports more block cipher algorithms than
> 3DES shoud support pluggable block ciphers on some level. The world of
> cryptoanalysis changes rapidly and cipher once secure may not be such on the
> next day (vide latest, still theoretical, attacks on AES published this week).
> I consider hardcoding one cipher algorithm into Python standard library a
> Wrong Thing.

The consensus I've heard among cryptographers is that these days one
should use AES and be done with it. Switching to another algorithm in the
remote case that AES may become obsolete is something which is best done
only if necessary, I don't think it would involve any less pain dealing
with it now than later.

-Bram Cohen

"Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent"
                                        -- John Maynard Keynes