30-01-2009, 09:00 PM
As modern encryption algorithms are broken, the world of information security looks in new directions to protect the data it transmits. The concept of using DNA computing in the fields of cryptography and steganography has been identified as a possible technology that may bring forward a new hope for unbreakable algorithms. Is the fledgling field of DNA computing the next cornerstone in the world of information security or is our time better spent following other paths for our data encryption algorithms of the future? This paper will outline some of the basics of DNA and DNA computing and its use in the areas of cryptography, steganography and authentication.
Research has been performed in both cryptographic and steganographic situations with respect to DNA computing but researchers are still looking at much more theory than practicality. The constraints of its high tech lab requirements and computational limitations combined with the labour intensive extrapolation means, illustrate that the field of DNA computing is far from any kind of efficient use in today?s security world. DNA authentication on the other hand has exhibited great promise with real world examples already surfacing on the marketplace today.
