Linear codes using skew polynomials with automorphisms and derivations

In this work the definition of codes as modules over skew polynomial rings of automorphism type is generalized to skew polynomial rings, whose multiplication is defined using an automorphism and a derivation. This produces a more general class of codes which, in some cases, produce better distance bounds than module skew codes constructed only with an automorphism. Extending the approach of Gabidulin codes, we introduce new notions of evaluation of skew polynomials with derivations and the corresponding evaluation codes. We propose several approaches to generalize Reed-Solomon and BCH codes to module skew codes and for two classes we show that the dual of such a Reed-Solomon type skew code is an evaluation skew code. We generalize a decoding algorithm due to Gabidulin for the rank metric and derive families of Maximum Distance Separable and Maximum Rank Distance codes.     

Generalized Gabidulin codes over fields of any characteristic

We generalize Gabidulin codes to a large family of fields, non necessarily finite, possibly with characteristic zero. We consider a general field extension and any automorphism in the Galois group of the extension. This setting enables one to give several definitions of metrics related to the rank-metric, yet potentially different. We provide sufficient conditions on the given automorphism to ensure that the associated rank metrics are indeed all equal and proper, in coherence with the usual definition from linearized polynomials over finite fields. Under these conditions, we generalize the notion of Gabidulin codes. We also present an algorithm for decoding errors and erasures, whose complexity is given in terms of arithmetic operations. Over infinite fields the notion of code alphabet is essential, and more issues appear that in the finite field case. We first focus on codes over integer rings and study their associated decoding problem. But even if the code alphabet is small, we have to deal with the growth of intermediate values. A classical solution to this problem is to perform the computations modulo a prime ideal. For this, we need study the reduction of generalized Gabidulin codes modulo an ideal. We show that the codes obtained by reduction are the classical Gabidulin codes over finite fields. As a consequence, under some conditions, decoding generalized Gabidulin codes over integer rings can be reduced to decoding Gabidulin codes over a finite field.     

On transform-domain error and erasure correction by Gabidulin codes

Gabidulin codes are the rank metric analogues of Reed–Solomon codes and have found many applications including network coding. In this paper, we propose a transform-domain algorithm correcting both errors and erasures with Gabidulin codes. Interleaving or the direct sum of Gabidulin codes allows both decreasing the redundancy and increasing the error correcting capability for network coding. We generalize the proposed decoding algorithm for interleaved Gabidulin codes. The transform-domain approach allows to simplify derivations and proofs and also simplifies finding the error vector after solving the key equation.     

Some new non-additive maximum rank distance codes

In this paper, a construction of maximum rank distance (MRD) codes as a generalization of generalized Gabidulin codes is given. The family of the resulting codes is not covered properly by additive generalized twisted Gabidulin codes, and does not cover all twisted Gabidulin codes. When the basis field has more than two elements, this family includes also non-affine MRD codes, and such codes exist for all parameters. Therefore, these codes are the first non-additive MRD codes for most of the parameters.     

Extension of Overbeck’s attack for Gabidulin-based cryptosystems

Cryptosystems based on codes in the rank metric were introduced in 1991 by Gabidulin, Paramanov, and Tretjakov (GPT) and have been studied as a promising alternative to cryptosystems based on codes in the Hamming metric. In particular, it was observed that the combinatorial solution for solving the rank analogy of the syndrome decoding problem appears significantly harder. Early proposals were often made with an underlying Gabidulin code structure. Gibson, in 1995, made a promising attack which was later extended by Overbeck in 2008 to cryptanalyze many of the systems in the literature. Improved systems were then designed to resist the attack of Overbeck and yet continue to use Gabidulin codes. In this paper, we generalize Overbeck’s attack to break the GPT cryptosystem for all possible parameter sets, and then extend the attack to cryptanalyze particular variants which explicitly resist the attack of Overbeck.     

On the number of inequivalent Gabidulin codes

Maximum rank-distance (MRD) codes are extremal codes in the space of \(m\times n\) matrices over a finite field, equipped with the rank metric. Up to generalizations, the classical examples of such codes were constructed in the 1970s and are today known as Gabidulin codes. Motivated by several recent approaches to construct MRD codes that are inequivalent to Gabidulin codes, we study the equivalence issue for Gabidulin codes themselves. This shows in particular that the family of Gabidulin codes already contains a huge subset of MRD codes that are pairwise inequivalent, provided that \(2\leqslant m\leqslant n-2\).     

A-Codes from Rational Functions over Galois Rings

In this paper, we describe authentication codes via (generalized) Gray images of suitable codes over Galois rings. Exponential sums over these rings help determine—or bound—the parameters of such codes.     

Roos bound for skew cyclic codes in Hamming and rank metric

In this paper, a Roos like bound on the minimum distance for skew cyclic codes over a general field is provided. The result holds in the Hamming metric and in the rank metric. The proofs involve arithmetic properties of skew polynomials and an analysis of the rank of parity-check matrices. For the rank metric case, a way to arithmetically construct codes with a prescribed minimum rank distance, using the skew Roos bound, is also given. Moreover, some examples of MDS codes and MRD codes over finite fields are built, using the skew Roos bound.     

Additive cyclic codes over finite commutative chain rings

Additive cyclic codes over Galois rings were investigated in Cao et al. (2015). In this paper, we investigate the same problem but over a more general ring family, finite commutative chain rings. When we focus on non-Galois finite commutative chain rings, we observe two different kinds of additivity. One of them is a natural generalization of the study in Cao et al. (2015), whereas the other one has some unusual properties especially while constructing dual codes. We interpret the reasons of such properties and illustrate our results giving concrete examples.     

Polynomial-time key recovery attack on the Faure–Loidreau scheme based on Gabidulin codes

Encryption schemes based on the rank metric lead to small public key sizes of order of few thousands bytes which represents a very attractive feature compared to Hamming metric-based encryption schemes where public key sizes are of order of hundreds of thousands bytes even with additional structures like the cyclicity. The main tool for building public key encryption schemes in rank metric is the McEliece encryption setting used with the family of Gabidulin codes. Since the original scheme proposed in 1991 by Gabidulin, Paramonov and Tretjakov, many systems have been proposed based on different masking techniques for Gabidulin codes. Nevertheless, over the years most of these systems were attacked essentially by the use of an attack proposed by Overbeck. In 2005 Faure and Loidreau designed a rank-metric encryption scheme which was not in the McEliece setting. The scheme is very efficient, with small public keys of size a few kiloBytes and with security closely related to the linearized polynomial reconstruction problem which corresponds to the decoding problem of Gabidulin codes. The structure of the scheme differs considerably from the classical McEliece setting and until our work, the scheme had never been attacked. We show in this article that for a range of parameters, this scheme is also vulnerable to a polynomial-time attack that recovers the private key by applying Overbeck’s attack on an appropriate public code. As an example we break in a few seconds parameters with 80-bit security claim. Our work also shows that some parameters are not affected by our attack but at the cost of a lost of efficiency for the underlying schemes.     

Hierarchical erasure correction of linear codes

Linear codes over finite extension fields have widespread applications in theory and practice. In some scenarios, the decoder has a sequential access to the codeword symbols, giving rise to a hierarchical erasure structure. In this paper we develop a mathematical framework for hierarchical erasures over extension fields, provide several bounds and constructions, and discuss potential applications in distributed storage and flash memories. Our results show intimate connection to Universally Decodable Matrices, as well as to Reed-Solomon and Gabidulin codes.     

How to Mask the Structure of Codes for a Cryptographic Use

In this paper we show how to strengthen public-key cryptosystems against known attacks, together with the reduction of the public-key. We use properties of subcodes to mask the structure of the codes used by the conceiver of the system. We propose new parameters for the cryptosystems and even a modified Niederreiter cryptosystem in the case of Gabidulin codes, with a public-key size of less than 4000 bits.Communicated by: P. WildAMS Classification: 11T71     

Skew codes of prescribed distance or rank

In this paper we generalize the notion of cyclic code and construct codes as ideals in finite quotients of non-commutative polynomial rings, so called skew polynomial rings of automorphism type. We propose a method to construct block codes of prescribed rank and a method to construct block codes of prescribed distance. Since there is no unique factorization in skew polynomial rings, there are much more ideals and therefore much more codes than in the commutative case. In particular we obtain a [40, 23, 10]₄ code by imposing a distance and a [42,14,21]₈ code by imposing a rank, which both improve by one the minimum distance of the previously best known linear codes of equal length and dimension over those fields. There is a strong connection with linear difference operators and with linearized polynomials (or q-polynomials) reviewed in the first section.      

Fast decoding of Gabidulin codes

Gabidulin codes are the analogues of Reed–Solomon codes in rank metric and play an important role in various applications. In this contribution, a method for efficient decoding of Gabidulin codes up to their error correcting capability is shown. The new decoding algorithm for Gabidulin codes (defined over ${\mathbb{F}_{q^m}}$ ) directly provides the evaluation polynomial of the transmitted codeword. This approach can be seen as a Gao-like algorithm and uses an equivalent of the Euclidean Algorithm. In order to achieve low complexity, a fast symbolic product and a fast symbolic division are presented. The complexity of the whole decoding algorithm for Gabidulin codes is ${\mathcal{O} (m^3 \, \log \, m)}$ operations over the ground field ${\mathbb{F}_q}$ .     

Systematic maximum sum rank codes

In the last decade there has been a great interest in extending results for codes equipped with the Hamming metric to analogous results for codes endowed with the rank metric. This work follows this thread of research and studies the characterization of systematic generator matrices (encoders) of codes with maximum rank distance. In the context of Hamming distance these codes are the so-called Maximum Distance Separable (MDS) codes and systematic encoders have been fully investigated. In this paper we investigate the algebraic properties and representation of encoders in systematic form of Maximum Rank Distance (MRD) codes and Maximum Sum Rank Distance (MSRD) codes. We address both block codes and convolutional codes separately and present necessary and sufficient conditions for an encoder in systematic form to generate a code with maximum (sum) rank distance. These characterizations are given in terms of certain matrices that must be superregular in a extension field and that preserve superregularity after some transformations performed over the base field. We conclude the work presenting some examples of Maximum Sum Rank convolutional codes over small fields. For the given parameters the examples obtained are over smaller fields than the examples obtained by other authors.     

Skew quasi-cyclic codes over Galois rings

Recently there has been a lot of interest on algebraic codes in the setting of skew polynomial rings. In this paper we have studied skew quasi-cyclic (QC) codes over Galois rings. We have given a necessary and sufficient condition for skew cyclic codes over Galois rings to be free, and determined a distance bound for free skew cyclic codes. A sufficient condition for 1-generator skew QC codes to be free is determined. Some distance bounds for free 1-generator skew QC codes are discussed. A canonical decomposition of skew QC codes is presented.     

Galois hulls of special Goppa codes and related codes with application to EAQECCs

Galois hulls of MDS codes can be applied to construst MDS entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes (EAQECCs). Goppa codes and expurgated Goppa codes (resp., extended Goppa codes) over ${\mathbb{F}}_{q^m}$ are GRS codes (resp., extended GRS codes) when $m=1$. In this paper, we investigate the Galois dual codes of a special kind of Goppa codes and related codes and provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the Galois dual codes of such codes to be Goppa codes and related codes. Then we determine the Galois hulls of the above codes. In particular, we completely characterize Galois LCD, Galois self-orthogonal, Galois dual-containing and Galois self-dual codes among such family of codes. Moreover, we apply the above results to EAQECCs.     

Linear Codes over \mathbb{F}_{q}[u]/(u^s) with Respect to the Rosenbloom–Tsfasman Metric

We investigate the structure of codes over rings with respect to the Rosenbloom-Tsfasman (RT) metric. We define a standard form generator matrix and show how we can determine the minimum distance of a code by taking advantage of its standard form. We define MDR (maximum distance rank) codes with respect to this metric and give the weights of the codewords of an MDR code. We explore the structure of cyclic codes over and show that all cyclic codes over rings are MDR. We propose a decoding algorithm for linear codes over these rings with respect to the RT metric. AMS Classification: 94B05, 94B60     

Constacyclic codes over finite commutative semi-simple rings

Finite commutative semi-simple rings are direct sum of finite fields. In this study, we investigate the algebraic structure of λ-constacyclic codes over such finite semi-simple rings. Among others, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of self-dual, LCD, and Hermitian dual-containing λ-constacyclic codes over finite semi-simple rings are provided. Using the CSS and Hermitian constructions, quantum MDS codes over finite semi-simple rings are constructed.