Rust Crypto Utils

Memory-safe cryptographic utilities for financial systems and secure applications. Built with Rust to eliminate memory vulnerabilities in cryptographic implementations.

Security-First Design

Implements cryptographic best practices with automatic memory zeroization and secure key handling. Aligns with NIST cryptographic standards and 2024 CISA/FBI guidance for memory-safe implementations.

Features

• Memory Safety - Rust's ownership system prevents memory leaks of sensitive cryptographic material
• Automatic Zeroization - Sensitive data (passwords, keys) automatically zeroed when dropped
• Argon2id Password Hashing - Secure password hashing resistant to GPU attacks
• AES-256-GCM Encryption - Authenticated encryption with associated data (AEAD)
• Secure Random Generation - Cryptographically secure random number generation
• Type Safety - Strong typing prevents cryptographic errors at compile time

Use Cases

• Password hashing and verification for financial applications
• Data encryption for sensitive financial records
• Secure token generation
• Key management for banking systems
• Cryptographic operations in payment processing

Installation

Add to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
rust-crypto-utils = "0.1.0"

Quick Start

Password Hashing

use rust_crypto_utils::{SecurePassword, password};

// Hash a password
let password = SecurePassword::new(b"UserPassword123!".to_vec());
let hash = password::hash_password(&password).unwrap();

// Verify password
let is_valid = password::verify_password(&password, &hash).unwrap();
assert!(is_valid);

Data Encryption

use rust_crypto_utils::{SecureKey, encryption};

// Generate encryption key
let key = SecureKey::generate();

// Encrypt sensitive data
let plaintext = b"Account: 123456, Balance: $50,000";
let encrypted = encryption::encrypt(&key, plaintext).unwrap();

// Decrypt data
let decrypted = encryption::decrypt(&key, &encrypted).unwrap();
assert_eq!(plaintext.as_slice(), decrypted.as_slice());

Secure Random Generation

use rust_crypto_utils::random;

// Generate random bytes
let random_bytes = random::generate_random_bytes(32);

// Generate random hex string (for tokens)
let token = random::generate_random_hex(16); // 32 hex characters

Security Features

Automatic Memory Zeroization

All sensitive types (SecurePassword, SecureKey) automatically zero their memory when dropped:

{
    let password = SecurePassword::new(b"secret".to_vec());
    // Use password...
} // Memory automatically zeroed here

Type Safety for Keys

// Won't compile: key length checked at runtime
let short_key = vec![0u8; 16];
let key = SecureKey::new(short_key); // Returns Err(InvalidKeyLength)

// Correct: 256-bit key
let valid_key = vec![0u8; 32];
let key = SecureKey::new(valid_key).unwrap();

Secure Password Hashing

Uses Argon2id with secure default parameters:

• Memory cost: 19 MiB
• Time cost: 2 iterations
• Algorithm: Argon2id (resistant to GPU attacks)

Examples

See the examples/ directory:

cargo run --example password_hashing
cargo run --example file_encryption

Testing

cargo test

Alignment with Standards

This library implements cryptographic best practices from:

• NIST SP 800-63B - Digital Identity Guidelines (password hashing)
• NIST SP 800-38D - GCM mode for encryption
• CISA/FBI Joint Guidance (2024) - Memory-safe cryptographic implementations
• OWASP Cryptographic Storage Cheat Sheet

Cryptographic Algorithms

• Password Hashing: Argon2id (winner of Password Hashing Competition)
• Encryption: AES-256-GCM (NIST-approved, authenticated encryption)
• Random Generation: OS-provided CSPRNG (OsRng)

Use in Financial Systems

Designed for financial institutions requiring:

• PCI-DSS compliance - Secure cryptographic key management
• GLBA compliance - Protection of financial information
• SOX compliance - Data integrity and encryption
• GDPR compliance - Secure personal data handling

Performance

• Low overhead cryptographic operations
• Efficient memory usage with automatic cleanup
• Suitable for high-volume financial transaction systems

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file

Author

Tony Chuks Awunor

• M.S. Computer Science (CGPA: 4.52/5.00)
• EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker v13 AI (CEH v13 AI)
• EC-Council Certified SOC Analyst (CSA)
• Specialization: Memory-safe cryptographic systems and financial security infrastructure
• Research interests: Rust security implementations, threat detection, and vulnerability assessment
• Published crates: rust-crypto-utils, rust-secure-logger, rust-threat-detector, rust-transaction-validator, rust-network-scanner, rust-memory-safety-examples

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or pull request.

Security Disclosure

If you discover a security vulnerability, please email security@example.com (do not open public issue).

Related Projects

• rust-secure-logger - Secure logging with cryptographic integrity
• rust-transaction-validator - Financial transaction validation
• rust-threat-detector - SIEM threat detection

Citation

If you use this library in research or production systems, please cite:

Awunor, T.C. (2024). Rust Crypto Utils: Memory-Safe Cryptographic Utilities.
https://github.com/guardsarm/rust-crypto-utils

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Built for financial security. Designed for memory safety. Implemented in Rust.