Data Encryption Essay, Research Paper
The electronic age has brought away many technological progresss. With these progresss came the demand for security and tighter control on how we send information electronically over the Internet or through a web. Date encoding is, in its simplest footings, the interlingual rendition of informations into a secret codification. In order to read an encrypted file, the receiving system of the file must obtain a secret key that will enable him to decode the file. A deeper expression into cryptanalysis, cryptanalytics, and the Data Encryption Standard ( DES ) will supply a better apprehension of day of the month encoding.
Cryptanalytic Methods
There are two standard methods of cryptanalysis, asymmetric encoding and symmetric encoding. Data that is in its original signifier ( unscrambled ) is called plaintext. Once the information is scrambled and in its encrypted signifier it is called ciphertext. The ciphertext, which should be unintelligible to anyone non keeping the encoding key, is what is stored in the database or transmitted down the communicating line.
Asymmetrical encoding ( besides know as public cardinal encoding ) uses two separate keys, a public key and a private key. The private key is available merely to the single having the encrypted message. The public key is available to anyone who wishes to direct informations or communicate to the holder of the private key. Asymmetrical encoding is considered really safe but is susceptible to private cardinal larceny or breakage of the private key ( this is virtually impossible and would represent seeking one million millions of possible cardinal combinations ) ( 4 ) . Types of public cardinal algorithms include Riverst-Shamir-Adelman ( RSA ) , Diffie-Hellman, Digital Signature Standard ( DSS ) , EIGamal, and LUC ( 5 ) .
Symmetrical encoding uses merely one key ( a secret key ) to code and decode the message. No public exchange of the key is required. This method is vulnerable if the key is stolen or if the ciphertext is broken ( 4 ) . Types of symmetric algorithms include DES, Blowfish, International Data Encryption Algorithm ( IDEA ) , RC4, SAFER, and Enigma ( 5 ) .
Cryptanalysis
Cryptanalysis is the art of interrupting cryptanalysis. Methods of cryptanalytics include:
? h Ciphertext-only onslaught? V the aggressor works from ciphertext merely. The aggressor does non cognize anything about the message and is simply thinking about the plaintext ( 6 ) .
? h Know-plaintext onslaught? V the aggressor know the plaintext. Knowing this information, the attacke
R can try to decode the ciphertext ( 6 ) .
? H Chosen plaintext onslaught? V the aggressor can hold a message encrypted with the unknown key. The aggressor must so find the key used for encoding ( 6 ) .
? h Man-in-the-middle onslaught? V the aggressor intercepts the key that is being exchanged between parties ( 6 ) .
Data Encryption Standard ( DES )
In 1977 the National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) and IBM developed the Data Encryption Standard, or DES, to supply a agency by which informations could be scrambled, sent electronically to a finish, and so unscrambled by the receiving system. DES was developed to protect informations in the federal computing machine systems against inactive and active onslaughts ( 3 ) . Every five old ages the NIST reviews the DES and determines whether the cryptanalytic algorithm should be revised, is acceptable, or wholly withdrawn.
DES uses a really complex algorithm, or key, that has been deemed unbreakable by the U.S. authorities. There are 72,000,000,000,000,000 ( 72 quadrillion ) or more possible encoding keys that can be used. It applies a 56-bit key to each 64-bit block of informations. This procedure involves 16 unit of ammunitions of operations that mix the information and key together utilizing operations of substitution and permutation. The terminal consequence is a wholly scrambled informations and key so that every spot of the ciphertext depends on every spot of the informations plus every spot of the key ( a 56-bit measure for DES ) ( 2 ) .
Decision
Sending secure electronic information is critical for concerns today. Although the electronic age has made it easier for companies to direct and have information, it has besides increased the demand for security. Data encoding in itself will non guarantee any concern of directing secure information, but understanding it will certainly profit the company. Businesss who understand cryptanalysis, cryptanalytics, and Data Encryption Standard are on their manner to understanding informations encoding.
1. Bay Networks, Inc. ( 1997 ) . Configuring Software Encryption. www.baynetworks.com
2. Biasci, L. ( 1999 ) . Cryptology. www.whatis.com.
3. Frazier, R.E. , ( 1999 ) . Data Encryption Techniques. www.softstrategies.com.
4. Litterio, F. , ( 1999 ) . Cryptanalysis: The Study of Encryption. www.world.std.com.
5. SSH Communications Security, ( 1999 ) . Cryptanalytic Algorithms. www.ipsec.com.
6. SSH Communications Security, ( 1999 ) . Introduction to Cryptography. www.ipsec.com.
