Cryptography Fundamentals
Basic Network Security
ITWELEC6
Objectives:
At the end of the period, the students should
be able to:
• Know the basic terminologies involved with
cryptography
• Understand cryptography concepts and the
importance of keys in order to hide and retrieve
the original information
• Understand plaintext, ciphertext, and the
entities related to cryptography
Cryptography
G7JDZL L539CZ AA9CZ1
ZPQ12G 93L12B LP7FFH
18ABHU UJ14A9 334FYO
K71TYP CS3314 566HHX
SAPRW1 SP563S 3F8Y0K
PVF129 A7V8TT ADL10M
N031M1 LAE3FB 1L598X
RX0FYT LM2HU5 GT610A
I5581Z QH1UNB 9JB70W
Cryptography Fundamentals
Cryptography
• Is the science of hiding information. The practice
of it is thought to be nearly as old as the written
word.
• Cryptography comes from the Greek words:
• “kryptos” = meaning hidden and
• “graphein” = meaning to write
• Translating to “hidden writing”
Cryptography Fundamentals
bla-bla
ciphertext
msg
decoder (ciphertext in
encoder - plaintext out)
(plaintext in - bla-bla
cmb-cmb
ciphertext out)
eavesdropper
(should understand
nothing about the msg)
Terminologies
• Plaintext – The original message
• Ciphertext – The encoded message
• Cipher – Algorithm for transforming plain text to
cipher text
• Key – Info used in cipher known only to
sender/receiver
Cryptography Fundamentals
Terminologies
• Encipher (encrypt) – Conversion of plaintext to
ciphertext
• Decipher (decrypt) – Conversion of ciphertext
to plaintext
Cryptography Fundamentals
Terminologies
Plaintext Encryption Ciphertext
Ciphertext Decryption Plaintext
Plaintext
Cryptography Fundamentals
Ciphers
Original Encrypted
Cipher
Information Information
Cryptography Fundamentals
Steganography
• Is an alternative cipher process that hides
information by enclosing it in another file such as
a graphic, movie, or sound file
Cryptography Fundamentals
Steganography
• Steganographic techniques include:
– Hiding information within images.
– Invisibly altering the structure of a digital image.
Vessel Image Steganographic
Image
Secret Data
Cryptography Fundamentals
Keys
• An encryption key is a specific piece of
information that is used in conjunction with
an algorithm to perform encryption and
decryption
• Without the correct key, the receiver cannot
decrypt the ciphertext even if the algorithm is
known
Cryptography Fundamentals
Keys
Original Cipher Encrypted
Information Information
= Two
Letters
Following
Cryptography Fundamentals
Hashing
Cryptography Fundamentals
Hashing
• Is a one-way encryption that transforms
cleartext into ciphertext that is not intended
to be decrypted.
• The result of the hashing process is called a
hash
Cryptography Fundamentals
Hashing (uses)
• Hashing is used in a number of password
authentication schemes.
• A hash value can be embedded in an
electronic message to support data integrity
• A hash of a file can be used to verify the
integrity of that file after transfer
Cryptography Fundamentals
Hashing Algorithms
• MD5 (Message Digest 5) – produces 128-bit
message digest
• SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm) – modeled after
MD5, stronger than the former, produces 160-
bit hash
Cryptography Fundamentals – Hashing Algorithms
Symmetric Encryption
• Is a two-way encryption scheme in which
encryption and decryption are both
performed with the same key.
Encrypts Decrypts
Data Data
Same Key on Both Sides
Cryptography Fundamentals
Asymmetric Encryption
• Is using public and private keys
• Public key - is given to anyone as the message
is to be delivered through the internet or any
means of transportation
• Private key – is kept secret by one party
during two-way encryption because the
private key is never shared, its security is
relatively maintained
Cryptography Fundamentals
Asymmetric Encryption
Public Key Private Key
Encrypts Decrypts
Cryptography Fundamentals
Types of Ciphers
• Caesar Cipher
• Atbash Cipher
• Baconian Cipher
• Polybius Square
Cryptography Fundamentals
Caesar Cipher
• One of the earliest known and simplest
ciphers
• Is named after Julius Caesar who allegedly
used it to protect messages of military
significance
• For this cipher, the KEY(k) is the number of
characters to shift the cipher alphabet
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Caesar Cipher (cont.)
• Translate all characters to numbers whereas:
‘a’ = 0, ‘b’ = 1, …., ‘z’ = 25.
• Represent the Caesar cipher encryption
function E(x) where x is the character we are
encrypting as:
• E(x) = (x + k) mod 26
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Caesar Cipher (cont.)
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
• Example: k= 1
• Plaintext:
defend the east wall of the castle
• Ciphertext:
efgfoe uif fbtu xbmm pg uif dbtumf
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Caesar Cipher (cont.)
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
• Example: k= 7
• Plaintext:
Black clover
• Ciphertext:
Ishjr jsvcly
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Atbash Cipher
• Is an ancient encryption system created in the
Middle East.
• Is a simple substitution cipher that relies on
transposing all the letters in the alphabet such
as resulting it in backwards
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Atbash Cipher (cont.)
• Example:
• Plaintext: money
• Ciphertext: nlmvb
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Baconian Cipher
• To encode a message, each letter of the
plaintext is replaced by a group of five of the
letters ‘A’ or ‘B’. This replacement is done
according to the alphabet of the Baconian
cipher shown below
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Baconian Cipher (cont.)
Plaintext: Insertion
ABAAA ABBAA BAAAB AABAA BAAAA BAABA
Ciphertext: ABAAA ABBAB ABBAA
INSERTION
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Polybius Square
• Is a table that allows someone to translate
letters into numbers.
• To give a small level of encryption, this table
can be randomized and shared with the
recipient.
• In order to fit the 26 letters of the alphabet,
into the 25 spots created by the table, the
letters “I” and “J” are usually combined.
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Polybius Square (cont.)
• Plain: insertion (Column-Row approach)
• Cipher:423334512444424333(INSERTION)
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
Time for a short quiz! :D
Get a ½ crosswise sheet of paper
Cryptography Fundamentals – Types of Ciphers
1. Using CAESAR CIPHER, decrypt the following
message where k = 7:
RLLWPUN AOL SLNHJF VM OVWL HUK ZLYCPJL
2. Using ATBASH, decrypt the following message:
PVIMVO RH GSV XLIV LU LKVIZGRMT HBHGVNH
Cryptography Fundamentals
3. Using POLYBIUS SQUARE,
decrypt the following message:
11 44-32-43-54-34-11-33-41
44-42-23-51-34
42-15-51 12-11-42-13-51-41
34-44-42-13-13
45-43-54-24 23-51-24-31-45
24-51-23-11-42-33-34
Cryptography Fundamentals
End of Module
References
CompTIA Security+ (Exam SY0-401)
