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Cryptographic Solutions Flashcards

1
Q

Symmetric Encryption

A

■ Uses a single key for both encryption and decryption
■ Often referred to as private key encryption
■ Requires both sender and receiver to share the same secret key
■ Offers confidentiality but lacks non-repudiation
■ Challenges with key distribution in large-scale usage

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2
Q

Asymmetric Encryption

A

■ Uses two separate keys
● Public key for encryption
● Private key for decryption

■ Often called “Public Key Cryptography”
■ No need for shared secret keys
■ Commonly used algorithms include Diffie-Hellman, RSA, and Elliptic Curve
Cryptography (ECC)
■ Slower compared to symmetric encryption but solves key distribution challenges

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3
Q

Hybrid Approach

A

■ Combines both symmetric and asymmetric encryption for optimal benefits
■ Asymmetric encryption used to encrypt and share a secret key
■ Symmetric encryption used for bulk data transfer, leveraging the shared secret
key
■ Offers security and efficiency

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4
Q

Stream Cipher

A

■ Encrypts data bit-by-bit or byte-by-byte in a continuous stream
■ Uses a keystream generator and exclusive XOR function for encryption
■ Suitable for real-time communication data streams like audio and video
■ Often used in symmetric algorithms

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5
Q

Block Cipher

A

■ Breaks input data into fixed-size blocks before encryption
● Usually 64, 128, or 256 bits at a time
■ Padding added to smaller data blocks to fit the fixed block size
■ Advantages include ease of implementation and security
■ Can be implemented in software, whereas stream ciphers are often used in
hardware solutions

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6
Q

Symmetric Algorithms

A

DES
3DES
IDEA
AES
Blowfish
Twofish
RC Cipher Suite

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7
Q

DES

A

Data Encryption Standard

64-bit key
56-bit strength
Deprecated

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8
Q

3DES

A

Triple DES

Three 56-bit keys
Provides 112-bit strength
Slower than DES

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9
Q

IDEA

A

International Data Encryption Algorithm

128-bit key
Faster and more secure than DES

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10
Q

AES

A

Advanced Encryption Standard

Replaced DES and 3DES as US gvt encryption standard

Supports 128-bit, 192-bit, or 256-bit keys

Widelely adopted. Standard encryption for sensitive unclassified information

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11
Q

Blowfish

A

DES replacement
32 to 448 bits key size
Not widely adopted

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12
Q

Twofish

A

Open source and available for use

Supports 128, 192, or 256 bits key size

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13
Q

RC Cipher suite

A

RC4: stream cipher with keys from 40 to 2048 bits. Used in SSL and WEP

RC5: Block cipher up to 2048 bits

RC6: based on RC5, DES replacement

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14
Q

Asymmetric Algorithms

A

Diffie-Hellman
RSA
ECC

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15
Q

Diffie-Hellman

A

● Used for key exchange and secure key distribution
● Vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, requires authentication
● Commonly used in VPN tunnel establishment (IPSec)

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16
Q

RSA

A

Rivest, Shamir, Adleman

● Used for key exchange, encryption, and digital signatures
● Relies on the mathematical difficulty of factoring large prime numbers
● Supports key sizes from 1024 to 4096 bits
● Widely used in organizations and multi-factor authentication

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17
Q

ECC

A

Elliptic Curve Cryptography

● Efficient and secure, uses algebraic structure of elliptical curves
● Commonly used in mobile devices and low-power computing
● Six times more efficient than RSA for equivalent security

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18
Q

ECC variants

A

○ ECDH (Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman)
○ ECDHE (Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral)
○ ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm)

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19
Q

Hashing

A

One-way cryptographic function that produces a unique message digest from an input

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20
Q

Hash Digest

A

■ Like a digital fingerprint for the original data
■ Always of the same length regardless of the input’s length

21
Q

Common Hashing Algorithms

A

MD5
SHA
RIPEMD
HMAC

22
Q

MD5

A

Message Digest Algorithm 5

● Creates a 128-bit hash value
● Limited unique values, leading to collisions
● Not recommended for security-critical applications due to vulnerabilities

23
Q

SHA

A

Secure Hash Algorithm Family
● SHA-1
○ Produces a 160-bit hash digest, less prone to collisions than MD5
● SHA-2
○ Offers longer hash digests (SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-348, SHA-512)
● SHA-3
○ Uses 224-bit to 512-bit hash digests, more secure, 120 rounds of
computations

24
Q

RIPEMD

A

RACE Integrity Primitive Evaluation Message Digest

● Versions available
○ 160-bit (Most common)
○ 256-bit
○ 320-bit
● Open-source competitor to SHA but less popular

25
HMAC
Hash-based Message Authentication Code ● Checks message integrity and authenticity ● Utilizes other hashing algorithms (e.g., HMAC-MD5, HMAC-SHA1, HMAC-SHA256)
26
Digital Signatures
■ Uses a hash digest encrypted with a private key ■ Sender hashes the message and encrypts the hash with their private key ■ Recipient decrypts the digital signature using the sender's public key ■ Verifies integrity of the message and ensures non-repudiation
27
Common Digital Signature Algorithms
DSA RSA
28
DSA
Digital Security Algorithm ● Utilized for digital signatures ● Uses a 160-bit message digest created by DSS (Digital Security Standard)
29
Common Hashing Attacks
Pass the Hash Attack Birthday Attack
30
Pass the Hash Attack
● A hacking technique that allows the attacker to authenticate to a remote server or service by using the underlying hash of a user's password instead of requiring the associated plaintext password ● Hashes can be obtained by attackers to impersonate users without cracking the password ● Difficult to defend against due to various Windows vulnerabilities and applications ● Penetration tools like Mimikatz automate hash harvesting
31
Birthday Attack
● Occurs when two different messages result in the same hash digest (collision) ● Named after the Birthday Paradox, where shared birthdays become likely in a group ● Collisions in hashes can be exploited by attackers to bypass authentication systems ● Use longer hash output (e.g., SHA-256) to reduce collisions and mitigate the attack
32
Key stretching
● Technique that is used to mitigate a weaker key by creating longer, more secure keys (at least 128 bits)
33
Salting
● Adds random data (salt) to passwords before hashing
34
Nonce
Number Used Once ● Adds unique, often random numbers to password-based authentication processes ● Prevents attackers from reusing stolen authentication data ● Adds an extra layer of security against replay attacks
35
PKI
Public Key Infrastructure ■ Based on asymmetric encryption ■ Facilitates secure data transfer, authentication, and encrypted communications ■ Used in HTTPS connections on websites
36
Public Key Cryptography
● Refers to the encryption and decryption process using public and private keys ● Only a part of the overall PKI architecture
37
Key Escrow
■ Storage of cryptographic keys in a secure, third-party location (escrow) ■ Enables key retrieval in cases of key loss or for legal investigations
38
Digital Certificates
■ Digitally signed electronic documents ■ Bind a public key with a user's identity ■ Used for individuals, servers, workstations, or devices ■ Use the X.509 Standard
39
Types of digital certificates
■ Wildcard Certificate ■ SAN (Subject Alternate Name) field ■ Single-Sided ■ Dual-Sided Certificates ■ Self-Signed Certificates ■ Third-Party Certificates
40
Root of trust
● Highest level of trust in certificate validation ● Trusted third-party providers like Verisign, Google, etc.
41
CA
Certificate Authority ● Trusted third party that issues digital certificates ● Certificates contain CA's information and digital signature ● Validates and manages certificates
42
RA
Registration Authority ● Requests identifying information from the user and forwards certificate request up to the CA to create a digital certificate ● Collects user information for certificates ● Assists in the certificate issuance process
43
CSR
Certificate Signing Request ● A block of encoded text with information about the entity requesting the certificate ● Includes the public key ● Submitted to CA for certificate issuance
44
CRL
Certificate Revocation List ● Maintained by CAs ● List of all digital certificates that the certificate authority has already revoked ● Checked before validating a certificate
45
OCSP
Online Certificate Status Protocol ● Determines certificate revocation status or any digital certificate using the certificate's serial number ● Faster but less secure than CRL
46
OCSP Stapling
● Alternative to OCSP ● Allows the certificate holder to get the OCSP record from the server at regular intervals ● Includes OCSP record in the SSL/TLS handshake ● Speeds up the secure tunnel creation
47
Public Key Pinning
● Allows an HTTPS website to resist impersonation attacks from users who are trying to present fraudulent certificates ● Presents trusted public keys to browsers ● Alerts users if a fraudulent certificate is detected
48
Key Recovery Agents
● Specialized type of software that allows the restoration of a lost or or corrupted key to be performed ● Acts as a backup for certificate authority keys

Security+ (13 decks)

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