Flashcards - M10: Cryptography
Published on January 19, 2025
What is the difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption?
Symmetric: Same key for encryption and decryption (faster).
Asymmetric: Uses a public-private key pair (more secure key distribution).
Give an example of a symmetric encryption algorithm.
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) or DES/3DES.
Give an example of an asymmetric encryption algorithm.
RSA or ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography).
Define hashing.
A one-way function that transforms data into a fixed-size hash value (e.g., MD5, SHA-256) without reversible decryption.
What is the purpose of a digital signature?
Ensures authentication and integrity of a message, proving it came from a known sender and wasn’t altered.
How does a “salt” enhance password security?
By adding randomness to a password before hashing, making precomputed rainbow table attacks far less effective.
Why is key management important?
Even the strongest algorithms fail if keys are poorly generated, stored, or rotated.