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MENTAL MODEL · M10488

Kerckhoffs's Principle

Kerckhoffs's Principle
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Kerckhoffs stated that the security of a cryptosystem should depend solely on the secrecy of the key; all other system details may be public without compromising security.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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Kerckhoffs's principle (also called Kerckhoffs's desideratum, assumption, axiom, doctrine or law) of cryptography was stated by the Dutch cryptographer Auguste Kerckhoffs in the 19th century. The principle holds that a cryptosystem should be secure, even if everything about the system, except the ke…

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Cryptographic principle: the security of a system should rely only on the secrecy of the key, not on the secrecy of the algorithm itself (the 'open design' principle).

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerckhoffs%27s_principleZH · Explicit
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