Asymmetric Encryption Notes

These flashcards cover key terminologies and concepts related to asymmetric encryption as discussed in the lecture notes.

Asymmetric Encryption

A cryptographic technique using a pair of keys: a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.

Symmetric Encryption

A cryptographic method that uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.

Public Key

A key that can be shared publicly without compromising security; used to encrypt messages.

Private Key

A secret key that is kept confidential; used to decrypt messages encrypted with its corresponding public key.

RSA

An asymmetric algorithm that relies on the difficulty of factoring large prime numbers.

Key Exchange Problem

The challenge of securely sharing encryption keys with others without a prior relationship.

Digital Certificate

An electronic document that proves the ownership of a public key.

Digital Signature

A cryptographic proof that a message was created by a particular sender and not altered.

Certificate Authority (CA)

An entity that issues digital certificates and verifies the identity of their owners.

Chain of Trust

A hierarchy of trust relationships established through digital certificates.

Man-In-The-Middle Attack

An attack where the attacker intercepts and may alter the communication between two parties.

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

A framework of policies, hardware, software, and procedures needed to create, manage, and distribute digital certificates.

Cryptosystem

The combination of an algorithm, keys, and rules for securing information.

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)

An asymmetric encryption technique offering equivalent security to RSA with smaller keys.

Diffie-Hellman

A key exchange algorithm allowing two parties to create a shared secret over an insecure channel.

Computationally Infeasible

A term used to describe a task that would take an impractical amount of time or resources to complete, such as brute-forcing encryption.

Hash Function

A function that converts input data into a fixed-size string of characters, which is typically a hash value.

Nonce

A number used only once in cryptographic communication to prevent replay attacks.

X.509 Certificate

A standard that defines the format of public key certificates.

Certificate Revocation List (CRL)

A list of certificates that have been revoked before their expiration dates.

OpenSSL

A widely-used library for implementing secure communications over networks.

Session Expired

A notification that a user's session with a server has timed out.

Authenticity

The assurance that a message or identity is genuine and not altered.

Eavesdropping

Listening to or recording private conversations without consent.

Key Hijacking

The unauthorized acquisition of a cryptographic key.

Cloud Storage

Storing data on remote servers accessed from the internet.

Algorithm

A set of rules or instructions for solving a particular problem in computing.

Transposition Cipher

A method of encryption where the positions of the letters are shifted according to a regular system.

Substitution Cipher

A method of encryption where each letter in the plaintext is replaced with a letter some fixed number of positions down the alphabet.

Fingerprinting

A technique to uniquely identify digital certificates.

Brute Force Attack

An attack method that tries all possible keys until the correct one is found.

Session Key

A temporary encryption key used for a single session of communication.

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)

A communication protocol used for discovering the link layer address associated with a given network layer address.

Public Key Rotation

The process of replacing a public key with a new one after a certain period.

Key Expiry

The condition under which a key is no longer valid after a specified time.

Content Filtering

A method of blocking access to specific types of content on the internet.

Illegal Export

The unauthorized transfer of goods or services to another country.

Ciphertext

The encrypted output of an encryption algorithm.

Plaintext

The original, readable form of data before it is encrypted.

Digital Envelope

A method of wrapping the message to keep it confidential.

Key Management Problem

Challenges in securely storing, sharing, and updating cryptographic keys.

Crypto Community

A group of individuals and organizations focused on cryptography and secure communications.

Mathematical Basis

The underlying mathematical principles that support a cryptographic algorithm.

Key Derivation Function

A function that derives one or more secret keys from a secret value.

Active Attack

An attempt by an unauthorized user to alter or destroy information.

Passive Attack

An attempt to gain access to data without altering it.

Vulnerability Assessment

A systematic review of security weaknesses in an information system.

Firewall

A network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic.

Encryption Algorithm

A mathematical procedure for performing encryption on data.

Public Key Cryptography

A cryptographic system that uses pairs of keys: public keys for encryption and private keys for decryption.

Key Sharing

The method of securely providing encryption keys to authorized parties.

Algorithm Security

The resilience of an algorithm against various forms of attacks.

Digital Authentication

The process of confirming the identity of a user or device.

Certificate Path

The sequence of certificates from a server to a trusted root CA.