Demystifying Cryptography with OpenSSL 3.0

Discover the best techniques to enhance your network security with OpenSSL 3.0

Alexei Khlebnikov

BIRMINGHAM—MUMBAI

Demystifying Cryptography with OpenSSL 3.0

Copyright © 2022 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author nor Packt Publishing or its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Associate Group Product Manager: Mohd Riyan Khan

Publishing Product Manager: Shrilekha Malpani

Senior Content Development Editor: Adrija Mitra

Technical Editor: Nithik Cheruvakodan

Copy Editor: Safis Editing

Book Project Manager: Kirti Pisat

Proofreader: Safis Editing

Indexer: Sejal Dsilva

Production Designer: Alishon Mendonca

Marketing Coordinator: Ankita Bhonsle

First published: October 2022

Production reference: 1071022

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

35 Livery Street

Birmingham

B3 2PB, UK.

978-1-80056-034-5

www.packt.com

To my beloved mother, Tatyana Khlebnikova, who, through a lot of effort, care, love, and support, brought me up to the point where I could continue my own development further.

– Alexei Khlebnikov

Foreword

Having been a coder for more than three decades, I’ve come across fellow techies who could write a book, or even 10, about common but intricate technologies many times. However, very rarely have I come across someone who can explore topics as deeply as Alexei Khlebnikov.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with him and being his friend for several years now and I am looking forward to really diving into this book. I would certainly say it’s a subject that deserves our greatest attention.

In this book, we will be taken on a journey through the basics of OpenSSL, general cryptography, cryptography modes, the “joys” of certificates, and the making of TLS connections. All in great detail if I understand Alexei correctly, which I am very certain I do.

This is an important book, looking closely at technologies we take for granted and that are used basically everywhere to secure our online presence.

There are practical examples and step-by-step explanations of essential concepts to help you along. By the end of the book, you’ll be able to use the most popular features of OpenSSL in your products, whether web or desktop.

The book is certainly interesting for the doers, but also for managers and others who think security is important but lack knowledge about it. Don't worry – an in-depth understanding of mathematics is not needed to read this book and learn from it.

In my view as a lifelong techie, learning new things or maybe diving deeper into topics you have some starting knowledge on is rewarding and helpful and it keeps us all on our toes!

Take it away, Alexei!

– Jarle Adolfsen

Serial entrepreneur, CTO at bspoke, former CTO at Link Mobility, and a pioneer in computer graphics in the late 1980s and early 1990s

Contributors

About the author

Alexei Khlebnikov has more than 20 years of professional experience in IT where he has worked in a host of different roles – software developer, system administrator, DevOps engineer, technical leader, architect, and project manager. During these years, Alexei has worked with many technologies – security, artificial intelligence, web development, embedded, mobile, and robotics. Among other companies, Alexei worked for Opera Software on the famous Opera internet browser. Alexei has always been interested in security. He was one of the maintainers of the security-related Opera browser modules, responsible for cryptography, SSL/TLS, and integration with OpenSSL. He was also a member of the security architect group, responsible for the security of the Opera browser. Now, Alexei lives in Oslo, Norway, and works as a senior consultant for bspoke AS. He is also the leader of the architect group at his current employer.

First and foremost, I want to thank my beloved wife, Larisa, and son, Dmitry, for their continued love and support, and for supporting me while I was writing this book and spending less time with them. I also want to thank all the editors, managers, and other people at Packt Publishing who worked on this book, as well as the technical reviewer, Kris. Their help and valuable advice helped me improve the book to the benefit of its readers.

About the reviewer

Krzysztof Kwiatkowski is a cryptography engineer who focuses on problems at the intersection of cryptographic research and implementation. He holds an MSc degree in mathematics with a specialization in computational methods. With a career spanning over 15 years, Kris has worked on a variety of topics related to cryptography, communication, and software security from compact embedded to large distributed systems. Currently, he is concentrating on the implementation of modern, quantum-safe cryptographic schemes, and helping organizations to migrate towards them.

I’d like to thank my wonderful and loving family, who understand my busy schedule and always stand by my side.