Alice and Bob
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Alice and Bob, also just A and B, are the standard example users in writing on cryptography and coding theory. Carol and Dave often join them for protocols that require more than two players.
Bruce Schneier extends these [1] with two kinds of attacker:
- Eve the Eavesdropper, using passive attacks
- Mallory the Malicious, using active attacks
and several other types of player required in various protocols:
- Victor the Verifier
- Peggy the Prover
- Trent the Trusted third party
- Walter the Warden
His extensions seem to be in the process of becoming standard as well.
Alice and Bob have an amusing biography on the web.
The similar name of the film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and subsequent TV show appears to be just a coincidence.
References
- ↑ Schneier, Bruce (2nd edition, 1996,), Applied Cryptography, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-11709-9 page 23