ITTS 266 Adonon-PROJECT PAPER

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CRYPTOGRAPGY CONCEPT 1 Project Paper American Military University Professor: Dr Yongge Wang ISSC 266 Cryptography concepts

CRYPTOGRAPGY CONCEPT 2 Abstract Over several years, cryptography has proven to be an indispensable tool for ensuring the safety of sensitive data. Describing cryptography is important so readers and users can completely understand its objective and operation. This method's significance in modern life will be shown by detailing its background and present applications. In order to prove that the technologies used really do safeguard the data they are applied to, it will be necessary to observe the algorithms in motion. Finally, showing that there are still risks, both known and unknown, despite the progress gained in cryptography emphasizes the significance of using cryptographic techniques. This paper will discuss the current definition of cryptography, the language and terminology used in the field, the application of cryptographic measures, the variety of algorithms used to perform cryptographic tasks, and the potential dangers in this area of study. This paper will assemble evidence from various sources to demonstrate how and why cryptography is an important aspect of overall data protection.

CRYPTOGRAPGY CONCEPT 3 The practice of cryptography, or the creation and decipherment of secret codes, is a crucial part of modern data protection. The use of this technology protects information while it is in transit, at rest, and while being accessed by authorized parties. The use of cryptography dates back millennia and has been used for a wide variety of services, including the dissemination of military and political strategies and the protection of sensitive information. Unfortunately, most people today are unaware of the myriad ways in which cryptography is used to safeguard information, such as messages, passwords, and financial details. The reader will better understand the significance of cryptography if they are familiar with its concept, typical applications, security-providing algorithms, and potential risks. The inclusion of cryptography in your information security strategy is crucial for protecting the privacy, authenticity, and accessibility of your data. The term "cryptography," which originated from the Greek word Kryptos refers to the study of methods for keeping communications private (National Research Council et al., 1996). An Egyptian scribe's usage of non-standard hieroglyphs in an inscription is the first instance of their appearance in written history. Experts agree that the early uses of cryptography were for military and diplomatic communications; therefore, it is not surprising that the technique emerged not long after the invention of writing (Kessler, 2020). It is not strange that encryption is used to protect sensitive data in the modern world. However, since cryptography alone cannot guarantee the safety of sensitive data, it is often used in tandem with additional security measures to provide the appropriate level of protection (National Research Council et al., 1996). Encryption, decryption, keys, plaintext, ciphertext, and algorithms are all terminology that comes up in discussions about cryptography. As the name suggests, plaintext is the unencrypted version

CRYPTOGRAPGY CONCEPT 4 of a message transcribed by algorithms. Ciphertext is the information that has been encrypted but is still readable without the key. In order to decrypt the ciphertext, a key must be employed. This key might be a phrase, a password, or a series of digits. Deciphering is the process of converting ciphertext into plaintext, which may then be read by the intended recipients (Kessler, 2020). Nowadays, with all the advanced technology available, cryptography is used in just about every facet of human communication and daily life. Network security, computer system security, and information security are only a few of the newer areas of use for what was originally developed for military and political purposes (National Research Council et al., 1996). Since the encryption and decryption process no longer needs the user to possess a secret key, it has found widespread application in almost all areas where technology is used today. Typical cryptography applications include financial transactions, electronic communication, data storage, and many more (Kessler, 2020). While the average user would never understand how cryptography works, it is essential for anybody working in the field of information security to have some familiarity with the subject. When it comes to providing security, cryptography's strong suit is the size and structure of its keys and corresponding algorithms. If the key is long enough, it will be more difficult for an attacker to use it in a brute-force assault, in which they try every conceivable key until the encryption is cracked and the data can be seen in plaintext. Cryptography relies on a bigger key size and mathematical procedures to overcome these frequent assaults. It would take around 11.5 days to crack a key that's 40 bits long, but it would take about 2,000 years if the key were 56 bits long (National Research Council et al., 1996). There is a clear correlation between key length and security against brute-force assaults. In general, cryptography serves five purposes. First, there is confidentiality, which ensures that no one except those authorized to see the information may access it in any way. The second part,

CRYPTOGRAPGY CONCEPT 5 authentication, verifies the identity of the data viewer to ensure that they are really who they say they are. Third, we must guarantee the file's integrity by ensuring it has not been tampered with en route. The next step is nonrepudiation, which verifies that the sent file was indeed the one received. Last, we will go over key exchange, which is the transfer of cryptographic keys from sender to receiver (Kessler, 2020). In the following sections, we will break them down into numerous constituent parts. One of cryptography's most obvious and widespread applications is facilitating private and confidential communication. Most of the time, this is used without either the sender or the recipient realizing what is happening. The most obvious use of private communication would be between an email client and its email server or between a web server and a web browser. The use of cryptography guarantees that the contents of these communications and records cannot be read by anybody who is not authorized to do so. Most major corporations use the safe, encrypted HTTPS prefix for their websites (Chamberlain, 2017). Cryptography is also often used in the context of data storage. This is because everyone nowadays collects massive quantities of data, and this information is useful to someone, even if it's just the originator. Operating systems encrypt data at rest while stored on a computer to protect user credentials and guarantee the integrity of software updates and patches (Chamberlain, 2017). BitLocker and EFS are two of the built-in encryption methods in Windows that keep sensitive information safe from prying eyes (Windows 10 Encryption Strategies, 2017). Like data storage, password storage uses cryptography to ensure the security of the stored information. In the event that passwords are saved in plaintext, an attacker might potentially get access to any data or software those credentials are used to access. Therefore, passwords should

CRYPTOGRAPGY CONCEPT 6 not be stored in plaintext on a computer since doing so makes it easier for a malicious actor to access the information. However, they may be made more secure by using encryption. Hashing is the most effective approach for this kind of storage since it enables the computer system to verify the password's authenticity without disclosing the plaintext password (Chamberlain, 2017). Time stamping also employs the usage of cryptography. This process verifies that certain information really existed or was sent at a given time and date. Without revealing the message to the receiver beforehand, a blind signature mechanism is employed to generate the time stamp and provide a receipt of the delivery time. One may compare this to the practice of mailing a registered letter, in which the recipient's signature attests to the letter's timely delivery. This is standard procedure when dealing with copyright documentation, legal agreements, and patent filings (Prashanth, 2019). In many cases, people no longer exchange cash for purchases; instead, they use electronic money. When we talk about electronic money, we often mean things like direct deposits, cryptocurrencies, and digital gold currency, all of which are traded through EFT. Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the use of computers to move money between financial accounts. For example, billions of dollars are exchanged daily using these methods, which include online payment, debit and credit cards, ATMs, online transferal, and other virtual ways, such as PayPal. For all of these deals, we turn to cryptography and a variation on the cryptographic signature developed by Dr. Davis Chaum: the blind signature. This particular signature method is ideal for those who like to keep their digital currency transactions private and untraceable (Uses Of Cryptography | Chapter No. 4 | Fasttrack To Cryptography, n.d.).

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