This set of Cryptography Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs) focuses on “Substitution and

Transposition Techniques”.

1. Use Caesar’s Cipher to decipher the following

HQFUBSWHG WHAW

a) ABANDONED LOCK

b) ENCRYPTED TEXT

c) ABANDONED TEXT

d) ENCRYPTED LOCK

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: Caesar Cipher uses C =(p+3) mod 26 to encrypt.

2. Caesar Cipher is an example of

a) Poly-alphabetic Cipher

b) Mono-alphabetic Cipher

c) Multi-alphabetic Cipher

d) Bi-alphabetic Cipher

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: Caesar Cipher is an example of Mono-alphabetic cipher, as single alphabets are encrypted
or decrypted at a time.

3. Monoalphabetic ciphers are stronger than Polyalphabetic ciphers because frequency analysis is
tougher on the former.

a) True

b) False

View Answer
Answer: b

Explanation: Monoalphabetic ciphers are easier to break because they reflect the frequency of the
original alphabet.

4. Which are the most frequently found letters in the English language ?

a) e,a

b) e,o

c) e,t

d) e,i

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: The relativity frequency of these letters in percent : e-12.702, a-8.167, t-9.056, i-6.996, o-
7.507.

5. Choose from among the following cipher systems, from best to the worst, with respect to ease of
decryption using frequency analysis.

a) Random Polyalphabetic, Plaintext, Playfair

b) Random Polyalphabetic, Playfair, Vignere

c) Random Polyalphabetic, Vignere, Playfair, Plaintext

d) Random Polyalphabetic, Plaintext, Beaufort, Playfair

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: Random Polyalphabetic is the most resistant to frequency analysis, followed by Vignere,
Playfair and then Plaintext.

6. On Encrypting “thepepsiisintherefrigerator” using Vignere Cipher System using the keyword

b) abqdvmwuwjphfvvyyrfznydokvl

c) tbqyrvmwuwjphfvvyyrfznydokvl

d) baiuvmwuwjphfoeiyrfznydokvl

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: Cipher text:= Ci = Pi + ki mod m (mod 26).

7. On Encrypting “cryptography” using Vignere Cipher System using the keyword “LUCKY” we get cipher
text

a) nlazeiibljji

b) nlazeiibljii

c) olaaeiibljki

d) mlaaeiibljki

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: Cipher text:= Ci = Pi + ki mod m (mod 26).

This set of Cryptography Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs) focuses on “DES Modes of
Operation”.

1. How many modes of operation are there in in DES and AES?

a) 4

b) 3

c) 2

d) 5
View Answer

Answer: d

Explanation: DES has 5 modes of operation.

2. Which one of the following modes of operation in DES is used for operating short data?

a) Cipher Feedback Mode (CFB)

b) Cipher Block chaining (CBC)

c) Electronic code book (ECB)

d) Output Feedback Modes (OFB)

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: The Electronic code book mode is used for operating on short data as the same key is used
for each block. Thus repetitions in

Plain Text lead to repetitions in Cipher Text.

3. Which of the following is false for ECB mode of operation

i) The Plain text is broken into blocks of size 128 bytes

ii) Blocks can be swapped, repeated, replaced without recipient noticing

iii) Good for short data

iv) Encryption of each block is done separately using a randomly generated key for each block

a) i) only

b) ii) and iii)

c) i) and iv)

d) i) ii) and iv)

View Answer
Answer: c

Explanation: Block size is 64 bits. The same Key is used for each block.

4. Which of the following statements are true

i) In the CBC mode, the plaintext block is XORed with previous ciphertext block before encryption

ii) The CTR mode does not require an Initialization Vector

iii) The last block in the CBC mode uses an Initialization Vector

iv) In CBC mode repetitions in plaintext do not show up in ciphertext

a) iii)

b) ii) and iv)

c) All the Statements are true

d) i) ii) and iv)

View Answer

Answer: d

Explanation: The first block in CBC mode uses an IV.

5. There is a dependency on the previous ‘s’ bits in every stage in CFB mode. Here ‘s’ can range from ___

a) 8-16 bits

b) 8-32 bits

c) 4-16 bits

d) 8-48 bits

View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: The range of the output of each stage of the cipher system is 8-32 bits for a 64 bit system.

6. figure?

cryptography-questions-answers-des-modes-i-q6

a) The output of the XOR is sent to the next stage

b) The “Encrypt” Box should be replaced by “Decrypt Box

c) b-s bits are selected for the XOR operation

d) No fault

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: The algorithm is the Decryption algorithm for Cipher Feedback Mode (CBF)

7. Which of the following can be classified under advantages and disadvantages of OFB mode?

i) Transmission errors

DENCE

ii) A bit error in a ciphertext segment

iii) Cannot recover from lost ciphertext segments

iv) Ciphertext or segment loss

a) Advantages: None; Disadvantages: All

b) Advantages: All; Disadvantages: None

c) Advantages: i); Disadvantages: ii) iii) iv)

d) Advantages: i); ii) Disadvantages: iii) iv)

View Answer
Answer: d

Explanation: Advantages:

More resistant to transmission errors.

A bit error in a ciphertext segment affects only the decryption of that segment.

Disadvantages:

Cannot recover from lost ciphertext segments.

If a ciphertext segment is lost, all following segments will be decrypted incorrectly (if the receiver is not
aware of the segment loss).

8. In OFB Transmission errors do not propagate: only the current ciphertext is affected, since keys are
generated “locally”.

a) True

b) False

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: Yes, transmission errors do not propagate in OFB mode because of the locally generated
key.

9. Which of the following modes does not implement chaining or “dependency on previous stage
computations”?

a) CTR, ECB

b) CTR, CFB

c) CFB, OFB

d) ECB, OFB

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: Only CTR and ECB do not implement chaining.

a) True

b) False

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: The Counter value in CTR mode should never be repeated, else it leads to vulnerability of
the mode.

We must ensure never reuse key/counter values; otherwise it could break (OFB).

This set of Cryptography Questions and Answers for experienced people focuses on “DES Modes of
Operation”.

1. Which mode of operation has the worst “error propagation” among the following?

a) OFB

b) CFB

c) CBC

d) ECB

View Answer

Answer: d

Explanation: The ECB or electronic code book mode of operation propagates the most errors. A single bit
error is carried onto the next block and so on.

2. Which block mode limits the maximum throughput of the algorithm to the reciprocal of the time for
one execution?

a) OFB

b) CTR

c) CBC
d) ECB

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: The CTR mode of operation limits the maximum throughput of the algorithm to the
reciprocal of the time for one execution.

3. Which mode requires the implementation of only the encryption algorithm?

a) ECB

b) CBC

c) CTR

d) OFB

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: The CTR mode only requires the implementation of either the encryption or decryption
phase. Both the phases are somewhat similar.

4. Which of the following modes of operation does not involve feedback?

a) ECB

b) CBC

c) CTR

d) OFB

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: Electronic code book does not involve feedback.

5. Which of the following is a natural candidates for stream ciphers?

b) CFB

c) CBC

d) ECB

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: OFB and CTR both produce outputs that are independent of both PT and CT. Thus they are
ideal candidates for stream ciphers.

6. The XTS-AES mode was approved by NIST in

a) 1999

b) 2010

c) 2006

d) 2002

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: The XTS-AES mode of operation was approved by NIST in 2010. It is the most recent mode
of operation for block ciphers.

7. The XTS-AES mode is based on the concept of tweakable block cipher.

a) True

b) False

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: The XTS-AES mode uses a tweak thus the name.

a) secure the public key

b) provide security

c) provide variability

d) all of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: The purpose of the ‘tweak’ in the XTS-AES mode is to provide variability in each round.

9. A tweak is used in XTS-AES mode to provide a different output for the same input PT and same key.

a) True

b) False

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: The statement is true for XTS-AES mode of operation.

10. XTS-AES mode of operation is a better version of

a) OFB

b) CFB

c) CTR

d) ECB

View Answer

Answer: d

Explanation: XTS-AES mode overcomes the principle security weakness of ECB, which is that two
encryptions of the same CT yeild the same PT.
11. What is the size of the XTS-AES key?

a) 1024 bits

b) 64 bits

c) 512 bits

d) 128 bits

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: The key size can be either 256 bits or 512 bits. There are 2 keys of the same size K1 and K2.

12. Which of the following represent the tweak?

a) j

b) i

c) alpha

d) alphaj

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: ‘i’ represents the tweak value.

13. Which of the following is true for the tweak in XTS-AES mode?

a) they are non-negative integers

b) they are of size 128 bits

c) they are assigned consecutively

d) all of the mentioned

View Answer
Answer: d

Explanation: All of the statements are true in relation to the tweak ‘i’ from the XTS-AES mode of
operation.

14. Which of the following is the correct encryption statement representation for the XTS-AES mode?

a) E(K1,P) XOR T

b) E(K2,T) XOR P

c) E(K1,T XOR P) XOR P

d) E(K1,P XOR T) XOR T

View Answer

Answer: d

Explanation: The correct encryption representation would be : C = E(K1,P XOR T) XOR T.

15. The last two blocks of the XTS-AES mode are –

a) padded as 10*

b) encrypted/ decrypted using ciphertext-stealing

c) padded as 10*1

d) padded and then swapped after encryption/ decryption

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: The correct term used to encrypt/ decrypt the last 2 blocks is ‘cipher-text stealing’ where
C(m) and C(m-1) are interchanged with each other.

This set of Cryptography online test focuses on “Knapsack/ Merkle – Hellman/ RSA Cryptosystem”.
1. Find the ciphertext for the message {100110101011011} using superincreasing sequence { 1, 3, 5, 11,
35 } and private keys a = 5 and m=37.

a) C = ( 33, 47, 65 )

b) C = ( 65, 33, 47 )

c) C = ( 47, 33, 65 )

d) C = ( 47, 65, 33 )

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: {vi} = { 1, 3, 5, 11, 35 }

a = 5 and m = 37

Public key generation:

{wi} = avi mod m

wi = {5, 15, 25, 18, 27}

Break the message into k-bit tuple i.e. 5-bit tuple

10011 01010 11011

Encoding of M as follows:

M Ci

10011 47

01010 33

11011 65

Ciphertext sent will be: C = (47, 33, and 65).

2. Suppose that plaintext message units are single letters in the usual 26-letter alphabet with A-Z
corresponding to 0-25. You receive the sequence of ciphertext message units 14, 25, 89. The public key
is the sequence {57, 14, 3, 24, 8} and the secret key is b = 23, m = 61.

Decipher the message. The Plain text is

a) TIN
b) INT

c) KIN

d) INK

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: Solve using Knapsack Cryptosystem.

Wi = {57, 14, 3, 24, 8}

b = 23 and m = 61

a = b-1 mod m

61 = 2 x23 + 15

23 = 1x 15 + 8 Therefore 1= 8 x 23 – 3 x 61

15 = 1x 8 + 7 b-1 = 23-1= 8

8 = 1x 7 + 1 a = 8

v_i=a^(-1) w_i mod m

=bw_i mod m

v_i={ 30, 17, 8, 3, 1}

Cipher text V = bC mod m Plaintext

14 23 x 14 mod 61 = 17 01000 = 8 = I

25 23 x 25 mod 61 = 26 01101 = 13 = N

89 23 x 89 mod 61 = 34 10011 = 19 = T.

3. RSA is also a stream cipher like Merkel-Hellman.

a) True

b) False

View Answer
Answer: a

Explanation: RSA is a block cipher system.

4. In the RSA algorithm, we select 2 random large values ‘p’ and ‘q’. Which of the following is the
property of ‘p’ and ‘q’?

a) p and q should be divisible by Ф(n)

b) p and q should be co-prime

c) p and q should be prime

d) p/q should give no remainder

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: ‘p’ and ‘q’ should have large random values which are both prime numbers.

5. In RSA, Ф(n) = _______ in terms of p and q.

a) (p)/(q)

b) (p)(q)

c) (p-1)(q-1)

d) (p+1)(q+1)

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: Ф(n) = (p-1)(q-1).

6. In RSA, we select a value ‘e’ such that it lies between 0 and Ф(n) and it is relatively prime to Ф(n).

a) True

b) False

View Answer
Answer: b

Explanation: gcd(e, Ф(n))=1; and 1 < e < Ф(n).

7. For p = 11 and q = 19 and choose e=17. Apply RSA algorithm where message=5 and find the cipher
text.

a) C=80

b) C=92

c) C=56

d) C=23

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: n = pq = 11 × 19 = 209.

8. For p = 11 and q = 19 and choose d=17. Apply RSA algorithm where Cipher message=80 and thus find
the plain text.

a) 54

b) 43

c) 5

d) 24

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: n = pq = 11 × 19 = 209.

C=Me mod n ; C=517 mod 209 ; C = 80 mod 209.

9. USENET falls under which category of public key sharing?

a) Public announcement
b) Publicly available directory

c) Public-key authority

d) Public-key certificates

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: Many users have adopted the practice of appending their public key to messages that they
send to public forums, such as

USENET newsgroups and Internet mailing lists.

Perform encryption on the following PT using RSA and find the CT.

10. p = 3; q = 11; M = 5

a) 28

b) 26

c) 18

d) 12

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: n = 33; f(n) = 20; d = 3; C = 26.

11. p = 5; q = 11; M = 9

a) 43

b) 14

c) 26

d) 37

View Answer
Answer: b

Explanation: n = 55; f(n) = 40; d = 27; C = 14.

12. p = 7; q = 11; M = 8

a) 19

b) 57

c) 76

d) 59

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: n = 77; f(n) = 60; d = 53; C = 57.

13. p = 11; q = 13; M = 7

a) 84

b) 124

c) 106

d) 76

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: n = 143; f(n) = 120; d = 11; C = 106.

14. p = 17; q = 31; M = 2

a) 254

b) 423

c) 128
d) 523

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: n = 527; f(n) = 480; d = 343; C = 128.

15. n = 35; e = 5; C = 10. What is the plaintext (use RSA) ?

a) 3

b) 7

c) 8

d) 5

View Answer

Answer: d

Explanation: Use RSA system to decrypt and get PT = 5.

This set of Digital Communications Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs) focuses on “Public key
cryptosystem – 1”.

1. In public key cryptosystem _____ keys are used for encryption and decryption.

a) Same

b) Different

c) Encryption Keys

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: In conventional cryptosystem, same keys are used for encryption and decryption where as
in public key cryptosystem different keys are used.

2. In public key cryptosystem which is kept as public?

a) Encryption keys

b) Decryption keys

c) Encryption & Decryption keys

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: In public key cryptosystem, the encryption keys are kept as public where as decryption keys
are kept as secret.

3. In a trapdoor function, the functions are easy to go in

a) One direction

b) Two directions

c) All directions

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: A trapdoor is a one way function. Such functions can go easily in only one direction.

4. Pretty good privacy program is used for

a) Electronic mails

b) File encryption

c) Electronic mails & File encryption

d) None of the mentioned

Answer: c

Explanation: Pretty good privacy (PGP) privacy program is used for both electronic mails and file
encryption.

5. PGP system uses

a) Private key system

b) Public key system

c) Private & Public key system

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: Pretty good privacy system uses both private key and public key based systems.

6. Private key algorithm is used for _____ encryption and public key algorithm is used for _____
encryption.

a) Messages, session key

b) Session key, messages

c) Can be used for both

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: Private key algorithm is used for encryption of messages and public key algorithm is used
for encryption of session keys.

7. Which are called the block ciphers?

a) IDEA
b) CAST

c) Triple-DES

d) All of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: d

Explanation: Some of the examples of block codes are triple-DES, CAST and IDEA.

8. Which has a key length of 128 bits?

a) IDEA

b) Triple-DES

c) IDEA & Triple-DES

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: Triple-DES uses 168 bit key size and IDEA and CAST uses 128 bits key length.

9. Which algorithm can be used to sign a message?

a) Public key algorithm

b) Private key algorithm

c) Public & Private key algorithm

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: Public key algorithms are used to sign a message and private key algorithms are used to
encrypt the messages.
10. Examples of hash functions are

a) MD5

b) SHA-1

c) MD5 & SHA-1

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: c

Explanation: Some examples of hash functions are MD5 and SHA-1.

11. A cryptographic hash function has variable output length.

a) True

b) False

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: A cryptographic hash function has fixed output length.

12. A set of numbers is called as super increasing if

a) Each element is greater than previous element

b) Each element greater than sum of all the previous elements

c) Each element greater than the average of all elements

d) Each element lesser than the sum of all the elements

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: A set of numbers is called as super increasing if each element is greater than the sum of all
the numbers lesser than it.
13. Knapsack problem can be solved by

a) Public key cryptosystem

b) Private key cryptosystem

c) Public & Private key cryptosystem

d) None of the mentioned

View Answer

Answer: a

Explanation: The knapsack problem can be solved by public key cryptosystem system using knapsack
vector and data vector.

14. Merkle hellman is a symmetric cryptosystem.

a) True

b) False

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: Merkell hellman cryptosystem is a public key asymmetric cryptosystem method.

15. In this Merkle Hellman method same key is used for encryption and decryption.

a) True

b) False

View Answer

Answer: b

Explanation: In Merkle hellman cryptosystem method, two separate private and public keys are used for
encryption and decryption.
scheme is