The Ultimate Guide

to Symmetric
Encryption

Prepared by:

Engr. Virgilio A.
Zacarias, Jr
 • Cryptography is the
science of encrypting and
decrypting data to prevent
unauthorized access.
Encryption is the process
of making the plaintext
unreadable to any third
party, which generates the
ciphertext. Decryption is
the process of reversing
the encrypted text to its
original readable format,
i.e., plaintext.

What is Cryptography?
There are two types of encryption in
cryptography:
1.Symmetric Encryption

2.Asymmetric Encryption

• Today we are going to focus on what is symmetric encryption.

 • Symmetric Encryption
algorithm relies on a single key
for encryption and decryption
of information. Both the sender
and receiver of the message
need to have a pre-shared
secret key that they will use to
convert the plaintext into
ciphertext and vice versa.
• As shown below in the figure,
the key which is being used for
encrypting the original

What is Symmetric
message is decrypting the
ciphertext. The key must be

Encryption?
kept private and be known only
to the sender and the receiver.
 • To sum it up, the entire process will be as shown
For example, if Paul wants to send a simple message
below:
to Jane, they need to have a single encryption key
that both of them must keep secret to prevent
Step 1: Paul and Jane decide on a common key to
snooping by malicious actors. If the message “I am
be used
ready” is converted to ciphertext using a specific
substitution cipher by Paul, Jane must be aware of the
Step 2: Paul sends the secret encryption key to
substitution shift to decrypt the ciphertext once it
Jane or vice versa
reaches her.
Step 3: Paul uses the private key to encrypt the
original message

Step 4: Paul sends the encrypted message to

Jane

Step 5: Jane uses the secret key to decrypt the

message that was already present with her

• Following the above process, Paul and Jane

communicate privately without the fear of anyone
lurking on the route. Since only both of them have the
secret key needed to encrypt and decrypt the
message, no third party who can intercept the
encrypted message can break into it.
Where is Symmetric Key Cryptography Used?

• Symmetric encryption is
essential for many day-to-day
activities on the internet,
ranging from safe online
browsing to banking
applications. Some of these
applications are as follows-
• Payment Applications:

Many online banking and payment applications require the verification of personally identifiable
information before proceeding with their transactions. It helps in predicting the correct information to
prevent fraudulent activities and cybercrime.

• Securing Data at Rest:

When a website or organization stores personal information regarding their users or the company itself,
it is protected using Symmetric encryption. This is done to prevent all kinds of snooping from either
outside hackers or disgruntled employees inside the office, looking to steal crucial information.
• SSL/TLS Handshake:

Symmetric encryption plays a significant role in verifying website server authenticity,

exchanging the necessary encryption keys required, and generating a session using those
keys to ensure maximum security, instead of the rather insecure HTTP website format.
Why is Symmetric Key Cryptography Called
Private Key Cryptography?
• With the entire architecture of Symmetric Cryptography depending on the single key being used, you
can understand why it’s of paramount importance to keep the key secret on all occasions. If the sender
somehow transmits the secret key along with the ciphertext, anyone can intercept the package and
access the information. Consequently, this encryption category is termed private key cryptography,
since a big part of the data’s integrity is riding on the promise that the users can keep the keys secret.

• Provided you manage to keep the keys secret, you still have to choose what kind of ciphers you want
to use to encrypt the information. In symmetric-key cryptography, there are broadly two categories of
ciphers that you can employ.
What Are the Types of Ciphers Being
Used?
Two types of ciphers can be used in symmetric algorithms. These two types are:

• Stream Ciphers

• Block Ciphers
 1. Stream Ciphers

Stream ciphers are the algorithms that encrypt basic information,

one byte/bit at a time. You use a bitstream generation algorithm
to create a binary key and encrypt the plaintext.

The process for encryption and decryption using stream ciphers

are as follows :

• Get the plaintext to be encrypted.

• Create a binary key using the bitstream generation algorithm.

• Perform XOR operation on the plaintext using the generated

binary key.

• The output becomes the ciphertext.

• Perform XOR operations on the ciphertext using the same key

to get back the plaintext.

The most well-known stream ciphers are RC-4, SALSA and

PANAMA.
2. Block Ciphers

• On the other hand, block ciphers dissect the raw

information into chunks of data of a fixed size. The size
depends on the exact cipher being used. A 128-bit block
cipher will break the plaintext into blocks of 128-bit each
and encrypt those blocks instead of a single digit. These
ciphers are slower but much more tamper-proof and are
used in some of the most common algorithms being
employed today.

• Today, the most popular symmetric-key algorithms like

AES, DES, and 3DES are block cipher methodology
subsets.
What are the Advantages of Using Symmetric
Key Cryptography?

• Symmetric encryption has a

few advantages over its
counterpart, asymmetric
encryption, which uses two
different keys to encrypt and
decrypt data. Some of these
advantages are -
• Faster than Asymmetric: Symmetric encryption is relatively quicker than asymmetric encryption. Using a
single key for both encryption and decryption makes it comparatively less complex.

• Better Performance: Symmetric Encryption has been found to have a higher performance metric when
compared to asymmetric encryption. Fewer calculations help in the better memory management of the
host.
• Better Optimization: Bulk amounts of data that need to be encrypted are very well suited for symmetric
algorithms. Since they are much quicker, handling large amounts of data is simple and easy to use in
servers and data farms.

• Easy Implementation: With only a single key needed for both encryption and decryption of data, setting
up symmetric infrastructure for an organization is relatively easy compared to asymmetric encryption.