Intranet Knowledge Base: Encryption and Cryptanalysis Basics

Cryptography, cryptanalysis, and cryptology are critical terms used in cybersecurity. According to Shahbodin et al. (2019), cryptography refers to protecting communication and information through codes to ensure that the only person who can read and process the message is whom it is intended for. In computer science, the codes are developed from algorithms that are difficult to decipher. Cryptography includes techniques such as microdots or merging images with words. Cryptanalysis is the decryption and analysis of ciphers, codes, and encrypted text. Cryptanalysis uses mathematical formulas to search for algorithms’ vulnerabilities and breaks them into information security systems or cryptography (Dewangan, 2020). Cryptology refers to the science of secure communications. It is the study of creating messages with hidden meanings. Cryptology is the study while cryptography creates encrypted messages; cryptanalysis breaks these messages to recover their meaning. Cryptology thus encompasses both cryptanalysis and cryptography.

Need help writing your computer science essay or intranet knowledge base article on cryptography and cryptanalysis? Get expert computer science homework assistance from our professional team. Whether it’s understanding encryption techniques, summarizing cryptanalysis threats, or completing an academic paper or assignment, we provide plagiarism-free, accurate, and well-structured support. Make your essays, research papers, and intranet articles easier, insightful, and professional with our dedicated homework and assignment help tailored for computer science and cybersecurity topics.

         Cryptography achieves several cybersecurity objectives, including integrity, confidentiality, non-repudiation, and authentication. In the organization, confidentiality will be achieved by ensuring that only people with given permission have access to the transferred information and that it is protected from unauthorized access at all stages of the information lifecycle within the organization; encryption is the only strategy used in securing stored and information being transmitted (Dewangan, 2020). Integrity will be achieved by ensuring that the information systems and data are accurate. Cryptography ensures data integrity through hashing messages and algorithms digests. The security system will also ensure that the sender and receiver are correctly identified through unique code authentication. These measures are critical in the organization since they will ensure that the sender and receiver are held accountable through non-repudiation. Non-repudiation refers to a transferred message confirmation from either the sender or the receiver. Also, the organization will be able to store data without fear of cyber threats, hence encouraging data availability to the right individuals.

The organization may face certain threats when there is insecure cryptographic storage. This occurs when there is a collection of vulnerabilities in relation to the storage of sensitive data without using appropriate encryption (Dewangan, 2020). Major threats accompanied by this phenomenon include the loss of sensitive data that can range from trade secrets, identifiable information, personal information, health records, and individuals’ credit information. The threats can result from using weak or unsalted hashes, insecure ways of key management, and storing unnecessary but confidential data in the organization’s database.

There are different attacks and techniques associated with cryptanalysis. According to Shahbodin et al. (2019), cryptanalysis attack types can include chosen-plaintext analysis, known-plaintext analysis, ciphertext-only analysis, adaptive chosen-plaintext, and man-in-the-middle attack. Cyphertext-only attacks entail attacks where attackers only have access to at least one encrypted message but are unaware of the plaintext data, encryption algorithm, or cryptographic employed. A known plaintext attack refers to an attack where some plaintext-ciphertext is already known (Dewangan, 2020). Attackers usually map them to establish the encryption key, and they tend to be easy to use. Chosen-plaintext analysis refers to an attack where the attacker chooses random plaintext and requires aligning ciphertexts to establish the encryption key. Man-in-the-middle attack is an attack where messages or keys between sender and receiver in secure channels are intercepted. Lastly, adaptive chosen-plaintext analysis refers to an attack where attackers request the cipher text of more plaintexts after they have access to ciphertexts for some text.

References

Dewangan, P. (2020). A Review Paper on Network Security and Cryptography. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 9(1).

Shahbodin, F., Azni, A. H., Ali, T., & Mohd, C. K. N. C. K. (2019, January). Lightweight cryptography techniques for MHealth cybersecurity. In Proceedings of the 2019 Asia Pacific Information Technology Conference (pp. 44-50)..