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Lab 14a - XOR Encryption in Python

This document explains how to encrypt and decrypt files using XOR encryption in Python. It describes how XOR works by operating on bits, and how the Python ^ operator can be used to XOR whole bytes. An example Python script is provided to encrypt and decrypt files using a single character as the XOR key. The document walks through examples of encrypting a single character, encrypting a text file, and then decrypting the encrypted text file using the same key.

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111 views5 pages

Lab 14a - XOR Encryption in Python

This document explains how to encrypt and decrypt files using XOR encryption in Python. It describes how XOR works by operating on bits, and how the Python ^ operator can be used to XOR whole bytes. An example Python script is provided to encrypt and decrypt files using a single character as the XOR key. The document walks through examples of encrypting a single character, encrypting a text file, and then decrypting the encrypted text file using the same key.

Uploaded by

Tien xinh trai
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Proj 13: XOR Encryption in Python (10 pts.

)
What You Need
A Kali Linux machine, real or virtual. You could also use OS X, or Windows with Python installed.

Purpose
Encrypt and decrypt files using XOR in Python.

Understanding XOR
Exclusive OR (XOR) is a fundamental mathematical operation used in many encryption algorithms.

XOR operates on one bit at a time, with these results:

0 XOR 0 = 0
0 XOR 1 = 1
1 XOR 0 = 1
1 XOR 1 = 0

For our purposes, we'll use the Python ^ operator, which acts on a whole byte at a time.

Characters are ASCII-encoded, like this:

A is 01000001
B is 01000010
C is 01000011
...
A whole table of ASCII values is here:

http://www.asciitable.com/

Consider A^B:

A is 01000001
B is 01000010
A^B= 00000011
That is character 3, an unprintable end-of-text mark.

However, A^s is printable:

A is 01000001
s is 01110011
A^B= 00110010
The result is the hexadecimal value 0x32, or the numeral 2.

XOR in Python
In Kali Linux, in a Terminal window, execute this command:

nano xor1

In nano, enter the code shown below:

#!/usr/bin/python
import sys

if len(sys.argv) != 4:
print "Usage: ./xor1 infile outfile k"
print "k is a one-character XOR key"
print "For hexadecimal keys, use $'\\x01'"
exit()

f = open(str(sys.argv[1]), "rb")
g = open(str(sys.argv[2]), "a")
k = ord(sys.argv[3])

try:
byte = f.read(1)
while byte != "":
xbyte = ord(byte) ^ k
g.write(chr(xbyte))
byte = f.read(1)
finally:
f.close()

g.close()

Save the file with Ctrl+X, Y, Enter. Next, we need to make the file executable.

In a Terminal window, execute this command:

chmod a+x xor1


Encrypting a Single Character
In a Terminal window, execute this command:

./xor1

You see the help message, explaining how to use the program, as shown below.

To create a file named plain1 with the letter A in it, execute these commands :

echo -n A > plain1

cat plain1

The "echo -n" command created a file named plain1 which contains a single letter A, without a carriage return at the end of the
file.

The "cat plain1" command printed out the file, which appeared as a single A at the start of the next line, as shown below:

To encode the plain1 file with a key of s, execute these commands:

./xor1 plain1 cipher1 s

cat cipher1

The result is 2, as shown below:

Encrypting a Text File


In Kali Linux, in a Terminal window, execute this command:

nano plain2

In nano, enter the code shown below, replacing "YOUR NAME" with your own name:

Normal English text; written by YOUR NAME


Save the file with Ctrl+X, Y, Enter. To encrypt the file using a key of x, execute these commands:

./xor1 plain2 cipher2 x

cat cipher2

The result is strange unreadable characters, as shown below:

Decrypting a Text File


To decrypt a file, simply repeat the XOR operation with the same key. It will reverse itself.

Execute these commands:

./xor1 cipher2 plain2r x

cat plain2r

The file is restored to readable text, as shown below:

Capturing a Screen Image


Make sure YOUR NAME is visible, as shown above.

Click on the host system's taskbar, at the bottom of the screen.


Press the PrntScrn key to capture the whole desktop. Open Paint and paste in the image.

Save the image as "Proj 13 from YOUR NAME".

YOU MUST SEND IN A WHOLE-DESKTOP IMAGE FOR FULL CREDIT

Turning in Your Project


Send the image to [email protected] with a subject of "Proj 13 from YOUR NAME".

Last revised: 8-17-15

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