A format-preserving cipher including an encryption and a decryption scheme supporting non-linear access to input data by allowing the selection of portions of data from a potentially larger dataset to be encrypted, thus avoiding a necessarily sequential access into the input plaintext data. The cipher first defines a forward mapping from the allowable ciphertext values to an integer set of the number of such allowable ciphertext values, and a corresponding reverse mapping. It also supports exclusion of a certain set of characters from the ciphering process. An encryption algorithm is provided that encrypts the input plaintext data while preserving its original format and length, and a corresponding decryption algorithm is provided. The cipher advantageously embodies the encryption and decryption of multi-byte values, composite datasets, and credit card numbers, thus fitting a variety of industrial needs.

An encryption method for data includes acquiring data to be encrypted and user information set relevant to the encryption, sending a key acquisition instruction to a terminal corresponding to the user information, receiving a key returned from the terminal corresponding to the user information, encrypting the data to be encrypted by using the key, and transmitting encrypted data to the terminal corresponding to the user information.

Systems and methods for security in a nationwide wireless network with geographically dispersed wireless routers are described. The wireless routers have an interface function with an ability to receive telephone calls from an authorized caller. The router, in response and on demand generates a set of bounded random numbers (BRN) as a random seed for use in generation of encryption keys for communication security between the router and a portable wireless device of the caller.

A random number generating device includes an uncertain circuit which outputs uncertain data, and a cipher processing device. The cipher processing device encrypts input data using a cipher function of the cipher processing device, and generates a random number including higher uniformity than data outputted from said uncertain circuit using the cipher function of the cipher processing device and the data outputted from the uncertain circuit.

A computing support system is configured to programmatically manage support access to a computing system via a support technician console across multiple levels of support access. The system receives a request to authenticate a user requesting support for the computing system, issues one or more authentication challenges to the user to authenticate the identity of the user, receives one or more corresponding authentication challenge responses from the user based on the authentication challenge, and verifies a level of authentication based on the authentication challenge response, the level of authentication being selected from multiple levels of authentication. The system also determines a level of support access to the computing system based on the verified level of authentication and the identity of the user and programmatically enforces limits on the support access to the computing system via the support technician console based on the determined level of support access.

Embodiments described herein provide techniques for generating a security key for use in authenticating a device. Embodiments divide a unique identifier into an ordered plurality of portions, wherein the unique identifier is associated with a first device. A plurality of values is retrieved from an indexable data structure by accessing the indexable data structure using each of the plurality of portions as an index, where the indexable data structure stores a plurality of unique values in a random or pseudorandom order. Embodiments process the retrieved plurality of values to generate a security key and use the security key in processing one or more data communication messages between the first device and a remote computing device.