ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Related-key attack

Okay kiddo, let me try to explain related-key attack to you. It's like a game of treasure hunt. Let's say there's a treasure box that is locked with a password. Now, you have to get that password to unlock the treasure box and collect the prize inside.

But, there's a problem! The person who has hidden the treasure box has also given a hint to the password. Let's say the hint is "the password is related to the color blue." Now you start thinking that the password might be something related to the color blue, like "blue ocean" or "blue sky."

So, you try using these passwords to unlock the treasure box, but it doesn't work. However, there's a secret that only you know - that the hint "related to the color blue" actually means "add the number 5 to the actual password." So, the actual password of the treasure box is "3" and by adding 5 to it, you get "8."

Now, you can easily unlock the treasure box and get the prize.

Similarly, in a related-key attack, a hacker tries to guess the password/key of a system or software by using a related key that is somehow connected to the real key/password. This could be achieved through various methods like analyzing algorithms, math equations, or code patterns.

Once the hacker identifies the related key, they can try out various combinations to crack the system or software.

So, related-key attack basically means using a related key to guess the actual key/password of a system or software. It can be a tricky thing to do, but it's not impossible.