CH-8

CRYPTOGRAPHY

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS CHAPTER,

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

• Explain the basic principles of cryptography

• describe the operating principles of the most popular

cryptographic tools

• list and explicate the major protocols used for secure

communications

• discuss the nature and execution of the dominant methods of

attack used against cryptosystems

1
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

The science of encryption, known as cryptology, encompasses

cryptography and cryptanalysis.

TERMINOLOGY
To understand the fundamentals of cryptography, you must know
the meanings of the following terms:

Cryptography, which comes from the Greek words krypton,

meaning “hidden,” and graphein, meaning “to write,” is the
process of making and using codes to secure the transmission of
information.

2
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

Cryptanalysis is the process of obtaining the original message

(called the plaintext) from an encrypted message (called the
cipher text) without knowing the algorithms and keys used to
perform the encryption.

Encryption is the process of converting an original message into

a form that is unreadable to unauthorized individuals—

that is, to anyone without the tools to convert the encrypted message
back to its original format.

Decryption is the process of converting the ciphertext message

back into plaintext so that it can be readily understood.

3
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

Algorithm:
The programmatic steps used to convert an unencrypted message
into an encrypted sequence of bits that represent the message;
sometimes refers to the programs that enable the cryptographic
processes

Cipher or cryptosystem:
An encryption method or process encompassing the algorithm,
key(s) or crypto variable(s), and procedures used to perform
encryption and decryption.

Cipher text or cryptogram:

The encoded message resulting from an encryption

4
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

Code:
The process of converting components (words or phrases) of an
unencrypted message into encrypted components

Decipher:
To decrypt, decode, or convert, cipher text into the equivalent
plaintext.

Key or crypto variable:

The information used in conjunction with an algorithm to create the
cipher text from the plaintext or derive the plaintext from the cipher
text

Key space:
The entire range of values that can be used to construct an
individual key

5
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

Link encryption:
A series of encryptions and decryptions between a number of
systems, wherein each system in a network decrypts the
message sent to it and then encrypts it using different keys and
sends it to the next neighbor, and this process continues until the
message reaches the final destination

Plaintext or clear text:

The original unencrypted message, or a message that has been
successfully decrypted

6
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

Steganography:
the hiding of messages—for example, within the digital encoding
of a picture or graphic

Work factor:
The amount of effort (usually in hours) required to perform
cryptanalysis to decode an encrypted message when the key or
algorithm (or both) are unknown

CIPHER METHODS
There are two methods of encrypting plaintext:
the bit stream method or the block cipher method.

7
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

In the bit stream method, each bit in the plaintext is transformed

into a cipher bit one bit at a time.

In the block cipher method, the message is divided into blocks, for
example, sets of 8-, 16-, 32-, or 64-bit blocks, and then each block
of plaintext bits is transformed into an encrypted block of cipher
bits using an algorithm and a key.

Bit stream methods commonly use algorithm functions like the

exclusive OR operation (XOR), whereas block methods can use
substitution, transposition, XOR, or some combination of these
operations
Note that most computer-based encryption methods operate on
data at the level of its binary digits (bits), but some operate at the
byte or character level.

8
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

Cryptography as a black box

9
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

SUBSTITUTION CIPHER
In the simplest case, the message is encrypted by substituting
the letter of the alphabet n places ahead of the current letter.

For example, with n = 3, the substitution—which acts as the key

—is

Plaintext: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Ciphertext: D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C

where we've followed the convention that the plaintext is

lowercase, and the ciphertext is uppercase.

10
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SUBSTITUTION CIPHER

Using the key 3, we can encrypt the plaintext message

fourscoreandsevenyearsago

For the particular plaintext, the resulting cipher text is

IRXUVFRUHDAGVHYHABHDUVDIR.

This type of substitution is based on a monoalphabetic

substitution, because it only uses one alphabet.

More advanced substitution ciphers use two or more alphabets,

and are referred to as polyalphabetic substitutions.

11
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SUBSTITUTION CIPHER

Consider the following block of text:

Plaintext = ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Substitution cipher 1 = D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C
Substitution cipher 2 = G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F
Substitution cipher 3 = J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I
Substitution cipher 4 = M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L

The first row here is the plaintext, and the next four rows are four sets
of substitution ciphers, which taken together constitute a single
polyalphabetic substitution cipher.

To encode the word TEXT with this cipher, you substitute a letter
from the second row for the first letter in TEXT, a letter from the
third row for the second letter, and so on—a process that yields the
ciphertext WKGF.

12
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SUBSTITUTION CIPHER

Note how the plaintext letter T is transformed into a W or a F,

depending on its order of appearance in the plaintext.

In general, a simple substitution cipher can employ any

permutation of the alphabet as a key, which implies that there are
88 possible keys
26! » 2
the algorithm can be expressed as follows.
For each plaintext letter p, substitute the ciphertext letter C.
C = E(3,p) = (p + 3)mod26
A shift may be of any amount, so that the general Caesar
algorithm is
C = E(k,p) = (p + k)mod26

13
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SUBSTITUTION CIPHER

where k takes on a value in the range 1 to 25.

The decryption algorithm is simply

p = D(k,C) = (C - k)mod26

TRANSPOSITION CIPHER
The transposition cipher (or permutation cipher) simply
rearranges the values within a block to create the ciphertext.

This can be done at the bit level or at the byte (character) level.

14
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
TRANSPOSITION CIPHER

For an example, consider the following transposition key pattern.

In this key, the bit or byte (character) in position 1 (with position 1

being at the far right) moves to position 4 (counting from the
right), and the bit or byte in position 2 moves to position 8, and
so on.

Example, using the above key, the plaintext message

00100101011010111001010101010100, which is broken into 8-bit
blocks for clarity, produce the following ciphertext

15
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
TRANSPOSITION CIPHER

Reading from right to left in the example above, the first bit of
plaintext (position 1 of the first byte) becomes the fourth bit (in
position 4) of the first byte of the ciphertext.
Similarly, the second bit of the plaintext (position 2) becomes the
eighth bit (position 8) of the ciphertext, and so on.

Ex 2, Replacing the 8-bit block of plaintext with the example

plaintext message; “SACK GAUL SPARE NO ONE” yields the
following:

16
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
TRANSPOSITION CIPHER

Here, reading from right to left, the letter in position 1 of the first
block of plaintext, “L,” becomes the letter at position 4 in the
ciphertext.
In other words, the “L” that is the eighth letter of the plaintext is
the “L” at the fifth letter of the ciphertext.
This process continues using the specified pattern.

In Caesar block cipher, the recipient of the coded message

knows to fit the text to a prime number square (in practice, this
means that if there are fewer than twenty-five characters, the
recipient uses a 5 x 5 square).

17
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
TRANSPOSITION CIPHER

For example, if you are the recipient of the Caesar ciphertext

shown below you would make a square of five columns and five
rows, and then write the letters of the message into the square,
filling the slots from left to right, top to bottom.
Then you read the message from the opposite direction—that is,
from top to bottom, left to right.

Reading from top to bottom, left to right reveals the plaintext

“SACK GAUL SPARE NO ONE.”

18
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

EXCLUSIVE OR
The exclusive OR operation (XOR) is a function of Boolean
algebra in which two bits are compared, and if the two bits are
identical, the result is a binary 0.
If the two bits are not the same, the result is a binary 1.

XOR encryption is a very simple symmetric cipher that is used in

many applications where security is not a defined requirement.

The following Table shows an XOR truth table with the results of
all the possible combinations of two bits.

19
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
EX CL USI V E OR

Consider an example in which the plaintext is the word “CAT.”

The ASCII binary representation of the plaintext is
“01000011 01000001 01010100”.

In order to encrypt the plaintext, a key value should be selected.

In this case, the bit pattern for the letter “V” (01010110) is used,
and is repeated for each character to be encrypted, written left to
right.
Performing the XOR operation on the two bit streams (the
plaintext and the key) produces the result shown in the following
Table

20
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
EX CL USI V E OR

The row of the above table labeled “Cipher” contains the bit
stream that will be transmitted;
when this cipher is received, it can be decrypted using the key
value “V.”

Note that the XOR encryption method is very simple to implement

and equally simple to break.

The XOR encryption method should not be used by itself when an

organization is transmitting or storing sensitive data.

You can combine the XOR operation with a block cipher operation
to produce a simple but powerful operation.

21
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

VERNAM CIPHER
To perform the vernam cipher, also known as one-time pad,
encryption operation, the pad values are added to numeric values
that represent the plaintext that needs to be encrypted.

Each character of the plaintext is turned into a number and a pad

value for that position is added to it. The resulting sum for that
character is then converted back to a ciphertext letter for
transmission.

If the sum of the two values exceeds 26, then 26 is subtracted

from the total.

22
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
VERNAM CIPHER

The process of keeping a computed number within a specific

range is called a modulo;

thus, requiring that all numbers be in the range 1–26 is referred

to as modulo 26.

In modulo 26, if a number is larger than 26, then 26 is

sequentially subtracted from it until the number is in the proper
range.

consider the following example, which uses “SACK GAUL

SPARE NO ONE” as plaintext.

23
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
VERNAM CIPHER

In the first step of this encryption process, the letter “S” is

converted into the number 19 (because it is the nineteenth letter
of the alphabet), and the same conversion is applied to the rest
of the letters of the plaintext message, as shown below.

Rows three and four in this example show, respectively, the one-
time pad text that was chosen for this encryption and the one-
time pad value.

24
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
VERNAM CIPHER

Skipping ahead to the fourth character of the plaintext, “K,” we

find that the plaintext value for it is 11.
The pad text is “R” and the pad value is 18.
The sum of 11 and 18 is 29.
Since 29 is larger than 26, 26 is subtracted from it, which yields
the value 3.
The ciphertext for this plaintext character is then the third letter
of the alphabet, “C.”

Using the pad values and the ciphertext, the decryption process
works as follows:

25
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
VERNAM CIPHER

“Y” becomes the number 25, from which we subtract the pad value
for the first letter of the message, 06.

This yields a value of 19, or the letter “S.”

This pattern continues until the fourth letter of the ciphertext where
the ciphertext letter is “C” and the pad value is 18.

Subtracting 18 from 3 yields negative 15 (-15).

Since modulo 26 is employed, which requires that all numbers are in

the range of 1–26, you must add 26 to the negative 15.

This operations gives a sum of 11, which means that fourth letter of

26
the message is “K.”
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

BOOK OR RUNNING KEY CIPHER

One of the encryption methods made popular by spy movies involves
using the text in a book as the key to decrypt a message.

The ciphertext consists of a list of codes representing the page number,

line number, and word number of the plaintext word.

The algorithm is the mechanical process of looking up the references

from the ciphertext and converting each reference to a word by using the
ciphertext’s value and the key (the book).

Although almost any book can be used, dictionaries and thesauruses are
typically the most popular sources as they are likely to contain almost
any word that might be needed.

The recipient of a running key cipher must first know which book is

27
used
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
BOOK OR RUNNING KEY CIPHER

For example, from a copy of a particular popular novel, one may

send the message: 259,19,8; 22,3,8; 375,7,4; 394,17,2.

in this case, suppose it is the science fiction novel "A Fire Upon
the Deep," the 1992 TOR edition.

To decrypt the ciphertext, the receiver acquires the book and

turns to page 259, finds line 19, and selects the eighth word in
that line (which is “sack”).

Then the receiver turns to page 22, line 3, and selects the eighth
word again, and so forth.
In this example, the resulting message is
“SACK ISLAND SHARP PATH.”

28
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

HASH FUNCTIONS
Hash functions are mathematical algorithms that generate a
message summary or digest (sometimes called a fingerprint) to
confirm the identity of a specific message and to confirm that there
have not been any changes to the content.

While they do not create a ciphertext, hash functions confirm

message identity and integrity, both of which are critical functions in
e-commerce.

Hash algorithms are public functions that create a hash value, also
known as a message digest, by converting variable-length messages
into a single fixed-length value.

The message digest is a fingerprint of the author’s message that

is compared with the recipient’s locally calculated hash of the

29
same message.
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
HASH FUNCTIONS

If both hashes are identical after transmission, the message has

arrived without modification.

Hash functions are considered one-way operations in that the

same message always provides the same hash value, but the
hash value itself cannot be used to determine the contents of the
message.

Hashing functions do not require the use of keys, but it is

possible to attach a Message Authentication Code (MAC)—a
key-dependent, one-way hash function—that allows only specific
recipients (symmetric key holders) to access the message digest.

Because hash functions are one-way, they are used in password

30
verification systems to confirm the identity of the user.
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
HASH FUNCTIONS

The secure hash standard (SHS) is a standard issued by the

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Standard document FIPS 180-1 specifies SHA-1 (secure hash

algorithm 1) as a secure algorithm for computing a condensed
representation of a message or data file.

SHA-1 produces a 160-bit message digest, which can be used as an

input to a digital signature algorithm.

New hash algorithms (SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512) have been

proposed by NIST as standards for 128, 192, and 256 bits,
respectively.

The number of bits used in the hash algorithm is a measurement of

31
the strength of the algorithm against collision attacks.
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
HASH FUNCTIONS

A hash function H accepts a variable-length block of data M as

input and produces a fixed-size hash value h = H(M).

A change to any bit or bits in M results, with high probability, in a

change to the hash code.

Browse for HashCalc software on the internet and compare the

different hash algorithms
And for good explanation about how it works, browse for the
following link
http://www.metamorphosite.com/one-way-hash-encryption-sha1-d
ata-software

For its application, follow the below link

32
http://www.unixwiz.net/techtips/iguide-crypto-hashes.html
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
HASH FUNCTIONS

CRYPTOGRAPHIC ALGORITHMS
In general, cryptographic algorithms are often grouped into two
broad categories—
symmetric and asymmetric

To encrypt a plaintext set of data, you can use one of two

methods:
bit stream and block cipher.

In the bit stream method, each bit is transformed into a cipher

bit, one after the other.

33
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

In the block cipher method, the message is divided into blocks

e.g., 8-, 16-, 32-, or 64-bit blocks, and then each block is
transformed using the algorithm and key.

Bit stream methods most commonly use algorithm functions like

XOR, whereas block methods can use XOR, transposition, or
substitution.

SYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION
Encryption methodologies that require the same secret key to
encipher and decipher the message are using what is called
private key encryption or symmetric encryption.

34
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

The primary challenge of symmetric key encryption is getting the

key to the receiver, a process that must be conducted out of band
(meaning through a channel or band other than the one carrying
the ciphertext) to avoid interception.

There are a number of popular symmetric encryption

cryptosystems.
One of the most widely known is the Data Encryption Standard
(DES), which was developed by IBM and is based on the
company’s Lucifer algorithm, which uses a key length of 128 bits.

As implemented, DES uses a 64-bit block size and a 56-bit key.

DES enjoyed increasing popularity for almost twenty years

35
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

In 1998, a group called the electronic frontier foundation (www.Eff.Org),

using a specially designed computer, broke a DES key in less than three
days (just over 56 hours, to be precise).

Since then, it has been theorized that a dedicated attack supported by

the proper hardware (not necessarily a specialized computer) can break
a DES key in less than four hours.
For nicer explanation on how DES works, please refer the following link
http://page.math.tu-berlin.de/~kant/teaching/hess/krypto-ws2006/
des.htm
Triple DES (3DES) was created to provide a level of security far beyond
that of DES.

3DES uses three 64-bit keys for an overall key length of 192 bits.
3DES encryption is the same as that of standard DES, repeated three
times.

36
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

One example of 3DES encryption is as follows:

In the first operation, 3DES encrypts the message with key 1,

then decrypts it with key 2, and then it encrypts it again with key
1.
In cryptographic notation, this is

[E{D[E(M,K1)],K2},K1].

Decrypting with a different key is essentially another encryption,

but it reverses the application of the traditional encryption
operations.

37
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

In the second operation, 3DES encrypts the message with key 1,

then it encrypts it again with key 2, and then it encrypts it a third
time with key 1 again, or
[E{E[E (M,K1)],K2},K1].

In the third operation, 3DES encrypts the message three times

with three different keys;
[E{E[E(M,K1)],K2},K3].

This is the most secure level of encryption possible with 3DES.

38
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
S Y M M ET R I C E N C R Y P TI O N

3DES too soon proved too weak to survive indefinitely.

The successor to 3DES is the Advanced Encryption Standard

(AES).

Rijendael’s AES was approved by the Secretary of Commerce as

the official federal governmental standard as of May 26, 2002.

Depending on the key size, the number of rounds varies from

nine to thirteen:
for a 128-bit key, nine rounds plus one end round are used;
for a 192-bit key, eleven rounds plus one end round are used;
and for a 256-bit key, thirteen rounds plus one end round are

39
used
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
SYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

Experts estimate that the special computer used by the electronic

frontier foundation to crack DES within a couple of days would
require approximately 4,698,864 quintillion years
(4,698,864,000,000,000,000,000) to crack AES.

Show AES

40
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION
Asymmetric encryption uses two different but related keys, and
either key can be used to encrypt or decrypt the message.

If, however, key A is used to encrypt the message, only key B can
decrypt it, and if key B is used to encrypt a message, only key A
can decrypt it.

Asymmetric encryption can be used to provide elegant solutions

to problems of secrecy and verification.

Asymmetric algorithms are one-way functions.

A one-way function is simple to compute in one direction, but
complex to compute in the opposite direction.

41
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

One of the most popular public key cryptosystems is RSA, whose

name is derived from Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, the algorithm’s
developers.

Encryption in RSA is accomplished by raising the message M to a

nonnegative integer power e.
The product is then divided by the nonnegative modulus n (n
should have a bit length of at least 1024 bits), and the remainder
is the ciphertext C.

This process results in a one-way operation (shown below) when

n is a very large number.

e
C =M mod n

42
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

In the decryption process, the ciphertext C is raised to the power

d, a nonnegative integer, as follows:

d =e- 1 mod ( ( p - 1) ( q - 1) )
C is then reduced by modulo n. In order for the recipient to
calculate the decryption key, the p and q factors must be known.

The modulus n, which is a composite number, is determined by

multiplying two large nonnegative prime numbers, p and q:

n =p ´ q

43
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

The public and private keys are generated using the following
procedure, which is from the RSA corporation:

• “choose two large prime numbers, p and q, of equal length,

and compute p x q= n, which is the public modulus.

• Choose a random public key, e, so that e and (p-1)(q-1) are

relatively prime.

• Compute e x d =1 mod (p - 1)(q - 1), where d is the private

key.

• Thus d = e -1 mod [(p - 1)(q - 1)], where “(d, n) is the private

key; (e, n) is the public key.

44
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

P is encrypted to generate ciphertext C as C = P e mod n, and is

decrypted to recover the plaintext, P as P = C d mod n.”

Essentially, the RSA algorithm can be divided into the following

three steps:
1. Key generation: Prime factors p and q are selected by a
statistical technique known as probabilistic primality testing
and then multiplied together to form n.
2. The encryption exponent e is selected, and the decryption
exponent d is calculated.
Encryption: M is raised to the power of e, reduced by modulo n, and
remainder C is the ciphertext.
3. Decryption: C is raised to the power of d and reduced by
modulo n.

45
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

Example
1. Choose P =3, Q =11 (two prime numbers).
Note that small numbers have been chosen for the example so
that you can easily work with them.
In real-life encryption, they are larger than 10 1 0 0 .

2. N = P x Q = 3 x11 = 33;
Z = (P - 1)(Q - 1) = 2x10 = 20

3. Choose a number for D that is relatively prime with Z, for

example, D = 7 (20 and 7 have no common divisors, except 1).

46
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

Example
4. E = ? Such as E x D = 1ModZ(1Mod Z means that the
remainder of E/D division is 1).

E x D / Z E x 7 / 20  E = 3

Check E x D / Z  3 x 7 / 20  21/20 = Remainder 1

5. So, the public key is (N,E) = (33,3) This key will be used to
encrypt the message.

The private key is (N,D) = (33,7) This key will be used to decrypt
the message.

47
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

Example
Now suppose Bob wants to send Alice a message M.
Further, suppose that as a number, the message is M = 15.

Bob looks up Alice's public key (N, e) = (33,3) and computes the
ciphertext as

C =M e mod N = 15 3 = 3375= 9mod33,

which he then sends to Alice.

To decrypt the ciphertext C = 9, Alice uses her private key d = 7

to find
M=C d modN=9 7 =4,782,969=144,938·33+15=15 mod33.

48
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
ASYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION

49
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

CRYPTOGRAPHIC TOOLS
The more widely used tools that bring the functions of
cryptography to the world of information systems are;

① PUBLIC-KEY INFRASTRUCTURE (PKI)

Public-key Infrastructure (PKI) is an integrated system of
software, encryption methodologies, protocols, legal agreements,
and third-party services that enables users to communicate
securely.

PKI systems are based on public-key cryptosystems and include

digital certificates and certificate authorities (CAs).

50
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

PKI
Digital certificates are public-key container files that allow
computer programs to validate the key and identify to whom it
belongs.

PKI and the digital certificate registries they contain enable the
protection of information assets by making verifiable digital
certificates readily available to business applications.

A typical PKI solution protects the transmission and reception of

secure information by integrating the following components:

• A certificate authority (CA), which issues, manages,

authenticates, signs, and revokes users’ digital certificates,
which typically contain the user name, public key, and other

51
identifying information.
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
DIGITAL CERTIFICATES

The CA periodically distributes a certificate revocation list (CRL) to

all users.
When important events occur, specific applications can make a real-
time request to the CA to verify any user against the current CRL.

• A registration authority (RA), which operates under the trusted

collaboration of the certificate authority and can handle day-to-day
certification functions, such as
• verifying registration information,
• generating end-user keys,
• revoking certificates, and
• validating user certificates.

• Certificate directories, which are central locations for certificate

storage that provide a single access point for administration and
distribution.

52
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
DIGITAL CERTIFICATES

• Management protocols, which organize and manage the

communications among CA’s, RA's, and end users. This
includes;
• the functions and procedures for setting up new users,
• issuing keys,
• recovering keys,
• updating keys,
• revoking keys, and
• enabling the transfer of certificates and status information among
the parties involved in the PKI’s area of authority.

• Policies and procedures, which assist an organization in the

application and management of certificates, in the
formalization of legal liabilities and limitations, and in actual
business use.

53
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
DIGITAL CERTIFICATES

The use of PKI in businesses include for the following;

Authentication:
Individuals, organizations, and Web servers can validate the
identity of each of the parties in an Internet transaction.

Integrity:
Content signed by the certificate is known to not have been
altered while in transit from host to host or server to client.

Privacy:
Information is protected from being intercepted during
transmission.

54
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
DIGITAL CERTIFICATES

Authorization:
The validated identity of users and programs can enable
authorization rules that remain in place for the duration of a
transaction

Nonrepudiation:
Customers or partners can be held accountable for
transactions, such as online purchases, which they cannot
later dispute.

55
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

② DIGITAL SIGNATURES
DS is an authentication mechanism that enables the creator of a
message to attach a code that acts as a signature.

Typically the signature is formed by taking the hash of the

message and encrypting the message with the creator ’s private
key.

The signature guarantees the source and integrity of the

message.

When an asymmetric cryptographic process uses the sender’s

private key to encrypt a message, the sender’s public key must
be used to decrypt the message.

56
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

② DIGITAL SIGNATURES
When the decryption is successful, the process verifies that
the message was sent by the sender and thus cannot be
refuted.

This process is known as nonrepudiation and is the principle

of cryptography that underpins the authentication mechanism
collectively known as a digital signature.

In general, digital signatures should be created using

processes and products that are based on the Digital
Signature Standard (DSS).

57
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

② DIGITAL SIGNATURES

58
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

③ DIGITAL CERTIFICATES
A digital certificate is an electronic document or container file that
contains a key value and identifying information about the entity that
controls the key.

The certificate is often issued and certified by a third party, usually a

certificate authority.

A digital signature attached to the certificate’s container file certifies

the file’s origin and integrity.

This verification process often occurs when you download or update

software via the internet.

Unlike digital signatures, which help authenticate the origin of a

message, digital certificates authenticate the cryptographic key that is

59
embedded in the certificate.
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

③ DIGITAL CERTIFICATES
Two popular certificate types are those created using pretty good
privacy (PGP) and those created using applications that conform
to international telecommunication union’s (ITU-T) X.509 version
3.

60
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
③ DIGITAL CERTIFICATES

Certificate owner’s
name

Certificate’s serial
Digital number
certificate for
www.dvlottery
.state.gov
Certification
authority

Certificate’s
validity period

61
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

④ STEGANOGRAPHY
The word steganography—the art of secret writing—is derived
from the Greek words steganos, meaning “covered” and graphein,
meaning “to write.”

The methods of steganography conceal the existence of the

message, whereas the methods of cryptography render the
message unintelligible to outsiders by various transformations of
the text.

While steganography is technically not a form of cryptography, it is

another way of protecting the confidentiality of information in
transit.

The most popular modern version of steganography involves hiding

information within files that contain digital pictures or other images.

62
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

BACK
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY

Steganography can also be used for malicious purposes.

PROTOCOLS FOR SECURE COMMUNICATIONS (YOUR ASSIGNMENT)

ATTACKS ON CRYPTOSYSTEMS
Attempts to gain unauthorized access to secure communications
have used brute force attacks, in which the ciphertext is
repeatedly searched for clues that can lead to the algorithm’s
structure.

Most publicly available encryption methods are generally

released to the information and computer security communities to
test the encryption algorithm’s resistance to cracking.

In addition, attackers are kept informed of which methods of

attack have failed.

64
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
AT TA CKS ON C RYP TOSYS TEMS

In general, attacks on cryptosystems fall into four general

categories:

① MAN-IN-THE-MIDDLE ATTACK
A man-in-the-middle attack, as you learned in Chapter 2,
attempts to intercept a public key or even to insert a known key
structure in place of the requested public key.

Thus, attackers attempt to place themselves between the sender

and receiver, and once they’ve intercepted the request for key
exchanges, they send each participant a valid public key, which is
known only to them.
Establishing public keys with digital signatures can prevent the
traditional man-in-the-middle attack, as the attacker cannot
duplicate the signatures.

65
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
AT TA CKS ON C RYP TOSYS TEMS

② CORRELATION ATTACKS
Correlation attacks are a collection of brute-force methods that
attempt to deduce statistical relationships between the structure
of the unknown key and the ciphertext generated by the
cryptosystem.

A brute-force attack involves trying every possible key until an

intelligible translation of the ciphertext into plaintext is obtained.

On average, half of all possible keys must be tried to achieve

success.

Differential and linear cryptanalysis have been used to mount

successful attacks on block cipher encryptions such as DES.

66
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
AT TA CKS ON C RYP TOSYS TEMS

For more detail about linear and differential cryptanalysis refer to

"Cryptography and network security principles and practice
fifth edition ”

The only defense against this attack is;

• The selection of strong cryptosystems that have stood the test

of time,
• Thorough key management, and

• Strict adherence to the best practices of cryptography in the

frequency of key changes.

67
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
AT TA CKS ON C RYP TOSYS TEMS

③ DICTIONARY ATTACKS
In a dictionary attack, the attacker encrypts every word in a
dictionary using the same cryptosystem as used by the target in
an attempt to locate a match between the target ciphertext and
the list of encrypted words.

Dictionary attacks can be successful when the ciphertext consists

of relatively few characters, as for example files which contain
encrypted usernames and passwords.

④ TIMING ATTACKS
In a timing attack, the attacker eavesdrops on the victim’s
session and uses statistical analysis of patterns and inter-
keystroke timings to discern sensitive session information.

68
 CH-8
CRYPTOGRAPHY
AT TA CKS ON C RYP TOSYS TEMS

③ DICTIONARY ATTACKS
In a dictionary attack, the attacker encrypts every word in a
dictionary using the same cryptosystem as used by the target in
an attempt to locate a match between the target ciphertext and
the list of encrypted words.

Dictionary attacks can be successful when the ciphertext consists

of relatively few characters, as for example files which contain
encrypted usernames and passwords.

④ TIMING ATTACKS
In a timing attack, the attacker eavesdrops on the victim’s
session and uses statistical analysis of patterns and inter-
keystroke timings to discern sensitive session information.

69