Latest Posts
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Understanding Key Usage: When to Use Which Key (Signing, Encryption, MAC, KDF)
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In many projects I worked on, especially payment systems and backend services, cryptography was always there. Sometimes very visible, sometimes hidden deep inside libraries or infrastructure. One thing I noticed over the years is that people often talk about keys as if they are all the same. A key is a key, right? Just keep…
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Key Management Failures I’ve Seen (And How NIST Prevents Them)
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Key management is one of those topics that sounds boring until something goes wrong. In many projects I worked on, encryption was already implemented, HSMs were already deployed, and everyone assumed security was handled. Then audits happened. Or incidents. Or simple operational changes. That is usually when hidden problems around key management start to appear.…
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Key States and Key Lifecycles: From Generation to Destruction
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When people first learn about cryptography, the discussion almost always starts with algorithms and key sizes. AES 256, RSA 2048, elliptic curves, and similar topics usually get all the attention. In real systems, especially in payments, fintech, and regulated environments, those choices are often already decided for you. The real challenge shows up later, when…
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How Cryptographic Algorithms Work (Hashing, Symmetric, Asymmetric, RNG)
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When I started working on real systems that handle money, cards, and sensitive data, I quickly realized that cryptography is one of those topics everyone talks about but very few people truly explain in a simple way. Most explanations I found online were either too academic or too marketing driven. In real life, when you…
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Security Strength 101: AES-128 vs AES-256, RSA-2048 vs ECC
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I want to share something that I wish someone explained to me earlier in my career. In the payments world and even in normal software engineering work, people love to ask which one is better AES-128 or AES-256? RSA-2048 or ECC? And most of the time, the conversation becomes too academic or too full of…
About Me

Hi I’m Assi—I’m dedicated to advancing cashless payment technology and sharing insights with fellow developers and solution architects on my blog, Cashless Nomad.
I embrace a mobile lifestyle by replacing cash with digital payments, enabling seamless transactions anywhere. Going cashless keeps me connected, agile, and financially flexible—perfect for traveling light and skipping currency hassles.
Checkout my other blogs at marai.dev









