Comment by pessimizer
4 months ago
"Adversary" is simply a standard English word. It is neither religious or jargon. My assumption is that the reason it is often used in cryptography papers is because "attacker" rings a bit harshly when you repeat it over and over again.
Attacker rings harsh, and very limp. "The Adversary" is a common occult, religious and Biblical term for the Devil, Satan. The Hebrew word Satan means "the adversary". That's why it's funny and appropriate, lol!
brief bibliography - https://web.archive.org/web/20250316045952/https://pastebin....