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Cryptography
Authentication
What is authentication?
Verification of identity of someone who generated some data Relates to identity verification classifications of identity verification:
by something known e.g. password by something possessed e.g. smart card, passport by physical characteristics (biometrics) e.g. finger prints, palm prints, retina, voice by a result of involuntary action : signature
Authentication
Message came from apparent source or author Contents have not been altered Sometimes, it was sent at a certain time or sequence
Password
Protection of passwords
Dont inform your password to anybody Dont write or login your password at everywhere Etc.
Criteria: Hard to guess and easy to remember Characteristics of a good password Not shorter than six characters Not patterns from the keyboard Etc.
Password population, N =rs Probability of guessing a password = 1/N Probability of success, P=nt/N
Calculations on password
Try default passwords. Try all short words, 1 to 3 characters long. Try all the words in an electronic dictionary(60,000). Collect information about the users hobbies, family names, birthday, etc. Try users phone number, social security number, street address, etc. Try all license plate numbers (MUP103). Use a Trojan horse Tap the line between a remote user and the host system.
User education Computer-generated passwords Reactive password checking Proactive password checking
Example 1
Based on the passwords given below, determine which passwords are good or bad, include one reason for each password :
Example 2
Assume you choose character from a-z and 0-9 and the number of characters required are 5. Determine how much time will be needed to get the right password if your capability of your computer is 400 MIPS. Give your opinion/conclusion from this problem.
Solution
r = 26 (a-z) + 10 (0-9) = 36 , P = 1 , s = 5 N = rs = 365 = 6.05 x 107 P = nt/N n = 400 x 107 /sec Therefore: t = PN/n = 1 x ( 6.05 x 107 ) / (400 x 106) /sec = o.0151 = 1.51 x 10-2
Conclusion: the password can be broke only least than one second, means this password is not secured and not a good password.
Cryptography
Classified along three independent dimensions: The type of operations used for transforming plaintext to ciphertext The number of keys used symmetric (single key, or private-key encryption) asymmetric (two-keys, or public-key encryption) The way in which the plaintext is processed
Cryptography Algorithms
An encryption scheme has five ingredients: Plaintext Encryption algorithm Secret Key Ciphertext Decryption algorithm Security depends on the secrecy of the key, not the secrecy of the algorithm
The use of two keys has consequences in: key distribution, confidentiality and authentication. The scheme has six ingredients Plaintext Encryption algorithm Public key Private key Ciphertext Decryption algorithm
Three categories: Encryption/decryption: The sender encrypts a message with the recipients public key. Digital signature: The sender signs a message with its private key. Key echange: Two sides cooperate two exhange a session key.
Substitution
monoalphabetic substitution
Formed by shifting the letters of the original alphabet Extension of monoalphabetic substitution system Using Vigenere Tableau
polyalphabetic substitution
Transposition
unkeyed transposition
Rearrange letters by using matrix Rearrange letters by using matrix where the size of matrix is determined by the length of the key used.
keyed transposition
Based on the keys below, change this plaintext failure is the only opportunity to begin again more intelligently to ciphertext. Use 5letter words.
Solution
Plaintext: Failure is the only opportunity to begin again more intelligently
Based on Figure 2.2 in the notes, get the ciphertext for the plaintext A minutes success pays the failure of years in 4-letter words and failure as the repeating key. Use x to pad out the blanks.
Figure 2.2
Solution
Plaintext: A minutes success pays the
failure of years
Transposition
Solution
Plaintext: There is no security on this earth
Ciphertext: THERE ISNOS ECURI TYONT HISEA RTHTH EREIS ONLYO PPORT UNITY
Transposition
With the key security, encrypt the plaintext ignorance is the mother of admiration using keyed single transposition into 4-letter words. Use x to pad out columns.
Solution
Plaintext: ignorance is the mother of admiration
Stream ciphers
they convert one symbol of plaintext immediately into a symbol of ciphertext depends on symbol, key and control information of encipherment algorithm encrypt a group of plaintext symbols as one block examples are transposition ciphers
Block ciphers
e.g, in columnar transposition, the entire message is translated as one block, block size need not have any particular relationship to the size of the character
Some programs use passwords for access control, but do not protect the passwords in a very sophisticated manner or make determining the correct password very easy. The argument for using simple passwords and weak encipherment is that the data or programs being protected are of little value and the passwords give a small measure of privacy.
Given that what they are protecting is truly of little value, why is the use of such simple passwords and easily-broken encipherment bad?