Chapter 9 (Lecture 8) Flashcards
What is the major hurdle preventing the widespread adoption of one-time pad cryptosystems to ensure data confidentiality?
- The major obstacle to the widespread adoption of one-time pad cryptosystems is the difficulty in creating and distributing the very lengthy keys on which the algorithm depends.
Encrypt the message “I will pass the CISSP exam and become certified next month” using columnar transposition with the keyword SECURE.
- The first step in encrypting this message requires the assignment of numeric column values to the letters of the secret keyword:
S E C U R E
5 2 1 6 4 3
Next, the letters of the message are written in order underneath the letters of the keyword: S E C U R E 5 2 1 6 4 3 I W I L L P A S S T H E C I S S P E X A M A N D B E C O M E C E R T I F I E D N E X T M O N T H Finally, the sender enciphers the message by reading down each column; the order in which the columns are read corresponds to the numbers assigned in the first step. This produces the following ciphertext: I S S M C R D O W S I A E E E M P E E D E F X H L H P N M I E T I A C X B C I T L T S A O T N N
Decrypt the message “F R Q J U D W X O D W L R Q V B R X J R W L W” using the Caesar ROT3 substitution cipher.
- This message is decrypted by using the following function:
P = (C - 3) mod 26
C: F R Q J U D W X O D W L R Q V B R X J R W L W
P: C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S Y O U G O T I T
- How many possible keys exist in a 4-bit key space?
A. 4
B. 8
C. 16
D. 128
- C. To determine the number of keys in a key space, raise 2 to the power of the number of bits in the key space. In this example, 2^4=16.
- John recently received an electronic mail message from Bill. What cryptographic goal would need to be met to convince John that Bill was actually the sender of the message?
A. Nonrepudiation
B. Confidentiality
C. Availability
D. Integrity
- A. Nonrepudiation prevents the sender of a message from later denying that they sent it.
- What is the length of the cryptographic key used in the Data Encryption Standard (DES) cryptosystem?
A. 56 bits
B. 128 bits
C. 192 bits
D. 256 bits
- A. DES uses a 56-bit key. This is considered one of the major weaknesses of this cryptosystem.
- What type of cipher relies upon changing the location of characters within a message to achieve confidentiality?
A. Stream cipher
B. Transposition cipher
C. Block cipher
D. Substitution cipher
- B. Transposition ciphers use a variety of techniques to reorder the characters within a message.
- Which one of the following is not a possible key length for the Advanced Encryption Standard Rijndael cipher?
A. 56 bits
B. 128 bits
C. 192 bits
D. 256 bits
- A. The Rijndael cipher allows users to select a key length of 128, 192, or 256 bits, depending upon the specific security requirements of the application.
- Which one of the following cannot be achieved by a secret key cryptosystem?
A. Nonrepudiation
B. Confidentiality
C. AvailabilityD.
D. Key distribution
- A. Nonrepudiation requires the use of a public key cryptosystem to prevent users from falsely denying that they originated a message.
- When correctly implemented, what is the only cryptosystem known to be unbreakable?
A. Transposition cipher
B. Substitution cipher
C. Advanced Encryption Standard
D. One-time pad
- D. Assuming that it is used properly, the one-time pad is the only known cryptosystem that is not vulnerable to attacks.
- What is the output value of the mathematical function 16 mod 3?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 3
D. 5
- B. Option B is correct because 16 divided by 3 equals 5, with a remainder value of 1.
- In the 1940s, a team of cryptanalysts from the United States successfully broke a Soviet code based upon a one-time pad in a project known as VENONA. What rule did the Soviets break that caused this failure?
A. Key values must be random.
B. Key values must be the same length as the message.
C. Key values must be used only once.
D. Key values must be protected from physical disclosure.
- A. The cryptanalysts from the United States discovered a pattern in the method the Soviets used to generate their one-time pads. After this pattern was discovered, much of the code was eventually broken.
- Which one of the following cipher types operates on large pieces of a message rather than individual characters or bits of a message?
A. Stream cipher
B. Caesar cipher
C. Block cipher
D. ROT3 cipher
- C. Block ciphers operate on message “chunks” rather than on individual characters or bits. The other ciphers mentioned are all types of stream ciphers that operate on individual bits or characters of a message.
- What is the minimum number of cryptographic keys required for secure two-way communications in symmetric key cryptography?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
- A. Symmetric key cryptography uses a shared secret key. All communicating parties utilize the same key for communication in any direction.
- Dave is developing a key escrow system that requires multiple people to retrieve a key but does not depend upon every participant being present. What type of technique is he using?
A. Split knowledge
B. M of N Control
C. Work function
D. Zero-knowledge proof
- B. M of N Control requires that a minimum number of agents (M) out of the total number of agents (N) work together to perform high-security tasks.
- Which one of the following Data Encryption Standard (DES) operating modes can be used for large messages with the assurance that an error early in the encryption/decryption process won’t spoil results throughout the communication?
A. Cipher Block Chaining (CBC)
B. Electronic Codebook (ECB)
C. Cipher Feedback (CFB)
D. Output Feedback (OFB)
- D. Output Feedback (OFB) mode prevents early errors from interfering with future encryption/decryption.
Cipher Block Chaining and Cipher Feedback modes will carry errors throughout the entire encryption/decryption process.
Electronic Codebook (ECB) operation is not suitable for large amounts of data.
- Many cryptographic algorithms rely upon the difficulty of factoring the product of large prime numbers. What characteristic of this problem are they relying upon?
A. It contains diffusion.
B. It contains confusion.
C. It is a one-way function.
D. It complies with Kerchoff’s principle.
- C. A one-way function is a mathematical operation that easily produces output values for each possible combination of inputs but makes it impossible to retrieve the input values.
- How many keys are required to fully implement a symmetric algorithm with 10 participants?
A. 10
B. 20
C. 45
D. 100
- C. The number of keys required for a symmetric algorithm is dictated by the formula:
(n*(n-1))/2
which in this case, where n = 10, is 45.