Authenticated Encryption (AE) is a cryptographic primitive that simultaneously satisfies confidentiality and integrity within symmetric-key cryptography by combining ind-CPA secure encryption with message authentication mechanisms. The core theoretical framework defines security via formal games, where integrity of ciphertext requires the adversary to fail in generating valid forgeries under an IND-CPTXT advantage metric while privacy relies on maintaining indistinguishability against chosen plaintext attacks (ind-cpa). This concept represents a fundamental synthesis within information theory and cybersecurity, resolving the limitations of composing separate primitives into secure composite schemes such as Encrypt-then-MAC through rigorous reductionist proofs.
Authenticated Encryption (AE) is a cryptographic primitive that simultaneously satisfies confidentiality and integrity within symmetric-key cryptography by combining ind-CPA secure encryption with me…