Symmetric Cryptographic Algorithms DES (Data Encryption Standard) is perhaps the most widely used cryptographic algorithm. DES is based upon IBM’s Lucifer algorithm. The NBS (National Bureau of Standards) and the NSA (National Security Agency) adopted DES as a federal standard in 1977. DES is a symmetric cipher with an effective key length of 56 bits. …
Cryptanalysis is the study of analyzing information systems in order to “discover” or “crack” the hidden or secret aspects of those systems. More specifically, cryptanalysis is the study of breaching cryptographic security systems in order to obtain access to the information contained within encrypted messages without necessarily knowing the cryptographic key used to encrypt the …
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is the currently employed specification for encrypting electronic data by the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST. AES was selected as the U.S. standard for encryption of unclassified information in 2001 supplanting DES which had been the U.S. standards for a number of years (since 1977). AES …
Steganography has gained a significant amount of press over the past several years when the technique hit the press as a possible method that many of the terrorists involved with the 9/11 attacks used to plan the operation. Similar to the use of encryption, steganography techniques have become one of the basic methods that organizations …
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 …
The known ciphertext attack, or ciphertext only attack (COA) is an attack method used in cryptanalysis when the attacker has access to a given set of ciphertext(s). The attacker does not have access to corresponding cleartext in this method; however, COA is successful when correspdonding plaintext can be determined from a given set of ciphertext. …
The two most common types of encryption algorithm used in modern cryptography are the block and stream ciphers. The block cipher uses a deterministic algorithm that conducts operations on fixed-length groupings of bits, or blocks. By using a transformation specified by a symmetric key, a block cipher is able to encrypt bulk data, and is …
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 …
A one-time pad is a form of encryption that is difficult to decipher or crack if one is not the intended recipient. If done correctly, the strength of encryption of plaintext can almost be impossible to break in a useful timeframe. The system takes each character from plaintext and uses modular addition with a character …
GPG, or GNU Privacy Guard, is a free replacement and competing product for PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). The project is a data encryption and decryption application which provides end-users with a cryptographic privacy and authentication system for communicating electronic data. GPG can be used to sign, encrypt, and decrypt text, for email, files, directories, and …