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Computer Definitions » Initialization Vector
Initialization Vector - technical definition
Used in cryptography to ensure that an encryption
mechanism, such as a stream cipher or a block cipher in a streaming mode,
generates a unique stream that is independent of all other streams encrypted
with the same key without reapplying the (computationally
expensive) cryptographic keying process. The Initialization Vector must be known by the receiver and can be exchanged
as part of the session setup or transmitted Âindependently.
Ferguson,
N, Schneier, B. Practical Cryptography.
New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons,
2003.
See Initialization Vector in Computer