PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is a data encryption and decryption program used in e-mail messaging, encrypting/decrypting texts, files, or even disk partitions, in order to provide security of data. The program was created in 1991, by Phil Zimmerman. Pretty Good Privacy encryption is based on using a serial combination of data compression, hashing, public-key cryptography …
The Diffie-Hellman key exchange was first published by Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman in 1976 and is a popular method for exchanging cryptographic keys. The method is one of the most straight-forward examples of key exchanges implemented in the cryptology field and allows two individuals or parties that have not worked together before to establish …
Certificate Authority or Certification Authority (CA) is an entity, which is core to many PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) schemes, whose purpose is to issue digital certificates to use by other parties. It exemplifies a trusted third party. Some certification authorities may charge a fee for their service while some other CAs are free. It is …
The field of cryptology includes both the study of and practice of securing information in the presence of untrusted third parties or adversaries. Specifically, it is focused on creating and analyzing the protocols used to subvert attempts by adversaries to gain access to or interrupt the flow of information between trusted parties. Specific focus areas …
In the study of cryptography the terms plaintext and ciphertext are used to describe the plain language message or information and the resulting encrypted message or data that results from the use of a cipher or encryption algorithm. The resulting ciphertext is not readable by either a human or computer without the correct cipher to …
SHA stands for Secure Hash Algorithm. It consists of five hash functions designed by the National Security Agency (NSA) and published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The five algorithms are SHA-1, SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512. SHA-1 is the most commonly used of the SHA series. Hash algorithms are called secure …
DES (Data Encryption Standard) is a commonly used method for encrypting data using a secret or private key. The strength of the DES encryption standard was previously considered to be strong enough that the United States government placed restrictions on the export of the technology to other countries. Conceptually, there are more than 72 quadrillion …
A wordlist is a text file containing a collection of words for use in a dictionary attack. Wordlist Usage A dictionary attack using a wordlist relies on the fact that most users choose weak passwords. Very common passwords include password, computer, work, and most of the popular female names. Common Dictionary Attacks Using A Wordlist …
In a symmetric cipher, both parties must use the same key for encryption and decryption. This means that the encryption key must be shared between the two parties before any messages can be decrypted. Symmetric systems are also known as shared secret systems or private key systems. Symmetric ciphers are significantly faster than asymmetric ciphers, …
A dictionary attack consists of trying “every word in the dictionary” as a possible password for an encrypted message. A dictionary attack is generally more efficient than a brute force attack because users typically choose poor passwords. Dictionary attacks are generally far less successful against systems that use passphrases instead of passwords. Improving Dictionary Attacks …