Week 6 Encryption

Question 1

What is encryption?

Answer 1

Encryption is a fundamental concept in software and security engineering, serving as a crucial mechanism for protecting data confidentiality, integrity, and privacy. It involves the transformation of plaintext data into ciphertext using cryptographic algorithms and keys, making it unreadable to unauthorized parties.

Question 2

What sre the principles of encryption?

Answer 2

• Data Protection: Encryption safeguards sensitive data stored in databases, files, and storage devices from unauthorized access or theft.
• Secure Communication: Encryption ensures the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted over networks, including emails, instant messages, and web traffic.
• Digital Signatures: Encryption-based digital signatures authenticate the origin and integrity of digital documents, contracts, and transactions.
• Secure Transactions: Encryption secures online transactions, including e-commerce purchases, banking transactions, and electronic fund transfers.
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): Encryption is used in VPNs to create secure and private communication channels over public networks, such as the internet.
• Cloud Security: Encryption protects data stored in cloud environments, ensuring confidentiality and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Question 2

What are common encryption techniques?

Answer 2

• Symmetric Encryption:
  Uses a single key for both encryption and decryption.
  Examples include Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data Encryption Standard (DES), and Triple DES (3DES).
• Asymmetric Encryption (Public-Key Encryption):
  Utilizes a pair of public and private keys for encryption and decryption.
  Examples include RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman), Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), and Diffie-Hellman key exchange.
• Hash Functions:
  Produce fixed-size output (hash) from variable-size input (plaintext)
  Used for data integrity verification, digital signatures, and password hashing.
  Examples include SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit) and MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5).
• Key Exchange Protocols:
  Facilitate secure exchange of cryptographic keys between parties.
  Examples include Diffie-Hellman key exchange, Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH), and Key Exchange Algorithm (KEA).
• Hybrid Encryption:
  Combines symmetric and asymmetric encryption for efficiency and security.
  Asymmetric encryption is used to exchange a symmetric key, which is then used for encrypting data.
  Widely used in secure communication protocols like SSL/TLS.

Question 3

What are the best practices for Encryption?

Answer 3

• Use Strong Encryption Algorithms: Select widely recognized and vetted encryption algorithms with strong security guarantees.
• Secure Key Management: Implement robust key management practices, including key generation, storage, distribution, rotation, and revocation.
• Encryption Everywhere: Encrypt data at rest, in transit, and during processing to maintain continuous protection across all stages of data lifecycle.
• Regularly Update Encryption Mechanisms: Stay current with encryption standards, algorithms, and protocols to address emerging threats and vulnerabilities.
• Secure Implementation: Implement encryption securely, considering factors such as algorithm selection, key length, initialization vector (IV) usage, and secure random number generation.
• Compliance and Regulation: Ensure compliance with data protection regulations and industry standards governing encryption practices, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.