Embarking on the development of our team’s password manager, VaultMaster, presented me with a challenging yet immensely rewarding opportunity to delve into the realm of cryptography. With limited knowledge in the field, I faced the task of implementing a secure encryption utility crucial to the success of our password manager. This became my biggest success during the course, marking a significant breakthrough in both my technical abilities and personal growth.
In the initial stages of the project, I recognized the pivotal role that secure encryption plays in safeguarding user web credentials within our application. Eager to contribute meaningfully, I decided to tackle the challenge of creating a secure encryption tool. Given the sensitivity of user data, I aimed to implement robust cryptographic techniques, leading me to the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) with a SHA-512 derived key.
One of the key learnings was the importance of understanding cryptographic primitives and their application. Through extensive research, I familiarized myself with the intricacies of AES-GCM and SHA-512, gaining insights into their strengths and potential vulnerabilities. The process of designing and implementing the encryption and decryption functions, namely encrypt and decrypt in Go, deepened my understanding of cryptographic protocols and secure coding practices.
The decision to use Go for implementation stemmed from the desire to distribute only the binary file, ensuring ease of deployment in the cloud and protecting the encryption source code. As someone relatively new to Go, teaching myself the language became an integral part of the journey. The resulting Go file encapsulates the core functionalities in two main functions: encrypt and decrypt. The former secures the user’s data by deriving a 32-byte AES key from the password and a hardcoded salt, generating a random nonce, and employing AES-GCM for encryption. The latter reverses this process, decrypting the data securely.
The deriveKey function, responsible for key derivation using SHA-512, ensured the consistent generation of a 32-byte key, a critical aspect of cryptographic strength. The main function serves as the entry point, providing a command-line interface for secure execution, whether encrypting or decrypting based on user input.
This journey has been a testament to the power of self-directed learning. My newfound knowledge in cryptography, coupled with the ability to implement secure encryption in Go, significantly contributed to the development of VaultMaster. This experience not only bolstered my technical skills but also instilled a sense of confidence in tackling complex challenges. As I reflect on this achievement, I am reminded that the most rewarding breakthroughs often arise from stepping outside one’s comfort zone and embracing the opportunity to learn and grow.
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