Information Security

Unit 2 IMP : Symmetric Key Cryptography

1] What is cryptography and linear and differential Cryptanalysis ?

Cryptography is a techniques for securing communication and data.
It involves various methods to protect information.
There are two main types of cryptography:
symmetric key cryptography and asymmetric key cryptography.
 Symmetric Key Cryptography:
In symmetric key cryptography, the same key is used for both encryption and
decryption.
The communicating parties must agree on this secret key before exchanging
confidential information.

 Asymmetric Key Cryptography:

Asymmetric key cryptography, uses a pair of keys for encryption and decryption.
Each key pair consists of a public key and a private key.
Public Key: This key is shared openly and is used for encryption.
Private Key: This key is kept secret and is used for decryption.

Linear Cryptanalysis: Linear cryptanalysis is a method of attacking a cryptographic

system based on solving linear equations.
Differential Cryptanalysis: Differential cryptanalysis is another method of attacking
cryptographic systems. It focuses on studying the differences between pairs of
plaintexts and the corresponding ciphertexts.

In modern cryptography, algorithms are designed and tested against various types of
attacks, including linear and differential cryptanalysis.

2] Explain stream cipers with advantages and disadvantages ?

A stream cipher is a specific type of cryptographic algorithm

Stream ciphers encrypt data one bit or byte at a time, typically in a continuous stream.
They are often faster than block ciphers and are suitable for real-time communication.
Required less code.

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Advantages of Stream Ciphers:
1. Speed and Efficiency:
 Stream ciphers are faster than block ciphers for real-time
communication because they can process data as it arrives.
2. Synchronization:
 Stream ciphers can be easily synchronized between the sender and
receiver.

Disadvantages of Stream Ciphers:

1. Key Management:
 Key distribution and management can be challenging.

2. Limited Security Margin:

 Some stream ciphers may have a more limited security margin
compared to block ciphers

3] Explain Substitution techniques ?

Substitution techniques are a category of cryptographic algorithms that involve

replacing elements (such as letters or bits) in the plaintext with other elements,
based on a predefined rule .
There are different types of substitution techniques, and here are some common
ones:
1. Ceasar cipher
A simple substitution cipher where each letter in the plaintext is shifted by a
fixed number of positions down the alphabet.
 Here is an example of how to use the Caesar cipher to encrypt the message
“HELLO” with a shift of 3:
1. Write down the plaintext message: HELLO
2. Choose a shift value. In this case, we will use a shift of 3.
3. Replace each letter in the plaintext message with the letter that is three
positions to the right in the alphabet.
H becomes K (shift 3 from H)
E becomes H (shift 3 from E)
L becomes O (shift 3 from L)
L becomes O (shift 3 from L)
4.The encrypted message is now “KHOOR”

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 2. Monoalphabetic Ciphers:

In monoalphabetic ciphers, each letter in the plaintext is consistently replaced by

another letter throughout the entire message.
Plain: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Cipher: XYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVW
Example : watch Explaination videos on youtube and solve example

3. Playfair Cipher:
The Playfair Cipher uses a 5x5 matrix of letters to encrypt digraphs (pairs of two
letters) in the plaintext.
The matrix is generated based on a keyword provided by the user.
Example : watch Explaination videos on youtube and solve example

4] explain Transposition Techniques:

These techniques involve rearranging the order of the characters in the plaintext.
Hill Cipher:
Uses matrix multiplication for encryption and decryption.
Example watch Explaination videos on youtube and solve example
Polyalphabetic Ciphers:
Multiple cipher alphabets are used, often with a keyword determining the shift pattern.
Example watch Explaination videos on youtube and solve example

5] Explain Block ciphers and its modes ?

Block ciphers are a type of symmetric key encryption algorithm that operates on fixed-
size blocks of data. The data is divided into blocks, and each block is encrypted
separately with the same key.
To use a block cipher in practice, different modes of operation are employed to handle
various scenarios.
Here are some common modes of operation:

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Electronic Codebook (ECB):
Each block of plaintext is independently encrypted using the same key.
Advantages:
 Simple
 Each block is encrypted independently.
Disadvantages:
 No diffusion of patterns.

Cipher Block Chaining (CBC):

Each plaintext block is XORed with the previous ciphertext block before encryption.
Advantages:
 Provides diffusion of plaintext changes throughout the ciphertext.
 CBC is a good authentication mechanism.
Disadvantages:
 Parallel encryption is not possible since every encryption requires a
previous cipher.

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Cipher Feedback (CFB):
Allows a block cipher to operate on data smaller than the block size, creating a self-
synchronizing stream cipher.
Advantages:
 Allows for the encryption of individual bits or bytes.
 Supports streaming data.
Disadvantages:
 Error propagation can be an issue
.

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6] Explain data encryption standard ,3des and advanced encryption
standard ?

DES :

DES (Data Encryption Standard) is a symmetric-key block cipher, meaning that the
same secret key is used for both encryption and decryption.
widely used for secure data transmission and storage.
The block size in DES is 64 bits.

3DES :

Triple DES (3DES) is a type of encryption algorithm that offers enhanced security
through its triple-layered encryption technique.
Triple DES (3DES) is a modified version of the Data Encryption Standard (DES)
algorithm that was developed by IBM in the 1970s.
Advantages of 3DES
 Enhanced Security
 Widely Used
Limitations of 3DES
 Slow Speed
 Limited Key Size OptionsAES(advanced encryption standard)

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AES :
AES is a symmetric-key encryption standard established by the U.S. National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001.
It was introduced to replace the aging Data Encryption Standard (DES) and Triple DES
(3DES).
AES is a symmetric-key block cipher that provides strong and efficient encryption. Its
key features include flexibility in key lengths, a fixed block size, a well-defined
structure
widely adopted in modern cryptography.

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