Unit 2

Cryptography concepts and techniques

Introduction
Cryptography is a technique of securing communication by converting plain text into
cipher text. It involves various algorithms and protocols to ensure data confidentiality,
integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation. In this article, we will discuss cryptography and
its types.

What is Cryptography?
Cryptography is associated with the process of converting ordinary plain text into
unintelligible text and vice-versa. It is a method of storing and transmitting data in a particular
form so that only those for whom it is intended can read and process it. Cryptography not only
protects data from theft or alteration, but can also be used for user authentication.

OR
Cryptography is a technique to provide message confidentiality.

 The term cryptography is a Greek word which means "secret writing".

 It is an art and science of transforming messages so as to make them secure and

immune to attacks.

 Cryptography involves the process of encryption and decryption. This process is

Depicted.

OR
Cryptography is a technique of securing information and communications through the
use of codes so that only those persons for whom the information is intended can understand
and process it. Thus preventing unauthorized access to information. The prefix “crypt” means
“hidden” and the suffix “graphy” means “writing”. In Cryptography, the techniques that are
used to protect information are obtained from mathematical concepts and a set of rule-based
calculations known as algorithms to convert messages in ways that make it hard to decode
them. These algorithms are used for cryptographic key generation, digital signing, and
verification to protect data privacy, web browsing on the internet and to protect confidential
transactions such as credit card and debit card transactions.
The terminology used in cryptography is given below:

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 1. Plaintext. The original message or data that is fed into the algorithm as input is
called plaintext.

2. Encryption algorithm. The encryption algorithm is the algorithm that performs

various substitutions and transformations on the plaintext. Encryption is the process
of changing plaintext into cipher text.

3. Ciphertext. Ciphertext is the encrypted form the message. It is the scrambled

message produced as output. It depends upon the plaintext and the key.

4. Decryption algorithm. The process of changing Ciphertext into plain text is known
as decryption. Decryption algorithm is essentially the encryption algorithm run in
reverse. It takes the Ciphertext and the key and produces the original plaintext.
5. Key. It also acts as input to the encryption algorithm. The exact substitutions and
transformations performed by the algorithm depend on the key. Thus a key is a number
or a set of number that the algorithm uses to perform encryption and decryption.
Features Of Cryptography
 Confidentiality: Information can only be accessed by the person for whom it is intended
and no other person except him can access it.
 Integrity: Information cannot be modified in storage or transition between sender and
intended receiver without any addition to information being detected.
 Non-repudiation: The creator/sender of information cannot deny his intention to send
information at a later stage.
 Authentication: The identities of the sender and receiver are confirmed. As well
destination/origin of the information is confirmed.
 Interoperability: Cryptography allows for secure communication between different
systems and platforms.
 Adaptability: Cryptography continuously evolves to stay ahead of security threats and
technological advancements

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Types of Cryptography
1) Symmetric cryptography
2) Asymmetric cryptography
3) Hash function

1) Symmetric cryptography
 It is the simple kind of encryption technique that involve only one key to
encryption and decryption to information
 It is also called secret key cryptography.
 In Symmetric-key encryption the message is encrypted by using a key and the
same key is used to decrypt the message which makes it easy to use but less
secure. It also requires a safe method to transfer the key from one party to
another.
 It uses one key for both encryption and decryption.
 Faster and more efficient for large amounts of data.
 Requires a secure method to share the key between sender and receiver.
 Common algorithms include AES, DES, and Blowfish.

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 Symmetric key cryptography same keys are used for encryption and decryption

The salient features of cryptosystem based on symmetric key encryption are −

 Persons using symmetric key encryption must share a common key prior to
exchange of information.
 Keys are recommended to be changed regularly to prevent any attack on the
system.
 A robust mechanism needs to exist to exchange the key between the
communicating parties. As keys are required to be changed regularly, this
mechanism becomes expensive and cumbersome

Challenge of Symmetric Key Cryptosystem

There are two restrictive challenges of employing symmetric key cryptography.

 Key establishment − Before any communication, both the sender and the receiver
need to agree on a secret symmetric key. It requires a secure key establishment
mechanism in place.

 Trust Issue − since the sender and the receiver use the same symmetric key, there is an
implicit requirement that the sender and the receiver „trust‟ each other. For example, it
may happen that the receiver has lost the key to an attacker and the sender is not
informed.

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2) Asymmetric cryptography
 It is also called Public key cryptography
 It use two keys i.e. pair of key for encryption and decryption publice key is know
everyone and private key is know only that particular person.
 The encryption process where different keys are used for encrypting and decrypting
the information is known as Asymmetric Key Encryption
 Security is higher as two keys are used, one for encryption and the other for decryption
 It provides confidentiality, authenticity, and non-repudiation.
 Length of Keys (number of bits) in this encryption is large and hence, the process of
encryption-decryption is slower than symmetric key encryption
 When Host1 needs to send data to Host2, he obtains the public key of Host2 from
repository, encrypts the data, and transmits.

 Host2 uses his private key to extract the plaintext.

 Examples: Diffie-Hellman, DSA and RSA

3 Hash Functions
There is no usage of any key in this algorithm. A hash value with a fixed length is
calculated as per the plain text which makes it impossible for the contents of plain text to be
recovered. Many operating systems use hash functions to encrypt passwords.

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Difference Between Symmetric and Asymmetric Key Encryption
Symmetric Key Encryption Asymmetric Key Encryption

It requires two keys, a public key and a

It only requires a single key for both
private key, one to encrypt and the other to
encryption and decryption.
decrypt.

The size of ciphertext is the same or smaller The size of ciphertext is the same or larger
than the original plaintext. than the original plaintext.

The encryption process is very fast. The encryption process is slow.

It is used when a large amount of data needs

It is used to transfer small amount of data.
to be transferred.

It provides confidentiality, authenticity, and

It only provides confidentiality.
non-repudiation.

The length of key used is 128 or 256 bits The length of key used is 2048 or higher

In symmetric key encryption, resource

In asymmetric key encryption, resource
utilization is low compared to asymmetric
utilization is high.
key encryption.

It is efficient as it is used for handling large It is comparatively less efficient as it can

amount of data. handle a small amount of data.

Security is lower as only one key is used for Security is higher as two keys are used, one
both encryption and decryption purposes. for encryption and the other for decryption.

Examples: Diffie-Hellman, ECC, El Gamal,

Examples: DES, AES,3 DES and RC5
DSA and RSA

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