Editing Multiple encryption (section)

==Independent keys==
Picking any two [[cipher]]s, if the [[key (cryptography)|key]] used is the same for both, the second cipher could possibly undo the first cipher, partly or entirely. This is true of ciphers where the [[decryption]] process is exactly the same as the encryption process (a [[reciprocal cipher]]) &ndash; the second cipher would completely undo the first. If an attacker were to recover the key through [[cryptanalysis]] of the first encryption layer, the attacker could possibly decrypt all the remaining layers, assuming the same key is used for all layers.

To prevent that risk, one can use keys that are [[statistical independence|statistically independent]] for each layer (e.g. independent [[random number generator|RNGs]]).

Ideally each key should have separate and different generation, sharing, and management processes.