Cryptography and Encryption algorithms Flashcards
What is AES?
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard):
Symmetric
Key Sizes: 128, 192, and 256 bits.
Strength: Highly secure and efficient.
Usage: Used in a wide variety of applications, including secure communication protocols (SSL/TLS), file encryption, and government data protection.
What is DES?
DES (Data Encryption Standard):
Symmetric
Key Size: 56 bits.
Strength: Now considered insecure due to short key length and vulnerability to brute-force attacks.
Usage: Used historically, but largely replaced by AES.
What is 3DES?
3DES (Triple DES):
Key Size: 112 or 168 bits.
Strength: More secure than DES by applying DES three times, but slower and now being phased out in favor of AES.
Usage: Legacy systems, but being retired.
What is Blowfish?
Blowfish:
Symmetric
Key Size: 32 to 448 bits.
Strength: Faster and secure for general encryption, though newer algorithms like AES are preferred.
Usage: Often used in software encryption like password management systems.
What is RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4)?
RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4):
Symmetric
Key Size: Variable (typically 128 bits).
Strength: Fast but now considered insecure due to several vulnerabilities.
Usage: Historically used in protocols like SSL and WEP, but deprecated in favor of more secure options.
What is RSA?
RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman):
Key Size: 1024, 2048, or 4096 bits.
Strength: Highly secure when using large key sizes, but slower than symmetric encryption.
Usage: Used in digital signatures, key exchange, and secure web communications (SSL/TLS).
What is ECC?
ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography):
Key Size: Smaller keys (e.g., 256-bit ECC provides similar security to 3072-bit RSA).
Strength: Strong security with smaller key sizes, making it efficient for mobile and low-power devices.
Usage: Digital signatures, key exchange, especially in mobile devices and modern protocols like TLS.
What is Diffie-Hellman (DH)?
Diffie-Hellman (DH):
Purpose: Key exchange protocol rather than direct encryption.
Strength: Secure method for two parties to establish a shared secret key over an insecure channel.
Usage: Often used in conjunction with other algorithms like RSA or AES for secure key exchange.
What is SHA - 256?
SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit):
Strength: Widely used, secure against collision attacks.
Usage: Used in blockchain technology, digital signatures, and certificate generation.
What is MD5?
MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5):
Strength: Weak, with vulnerabilities to collisions.
Usage: Historically used for checksums and data integrity verification, but now replaced by more secure options like SHA-256.
What is SHA-1?
SHA-1:
Strength: Considered insecure due to vulnerability to collision attacks.
Usage: Deprecated, but historically used in certificates and digital signatures.
What are the main differences between Symmetric and Asymmetric encryption?
What is a hash and how does it differ from encryption?
What is salting a hash and why is it done?
What is a TPM and what are its primary functions?
