Encryption Quiz Acronyms

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SED

Self-Encrypting Drive

A hard drive with built-in hardware encryption.
The drive encrypts itself automatically. No software needed.

FDE

Full Disk Encryption

Software that encrypts an entire storage drive.
Examples: BitLocker (Windows), FileVault (macOS).

EFS

Encrypting File System

A Windows feature that encrypts individual files or folders, not the whole drive.

TPM

Trusted Platform Module

A chip on the motherboard that stores encryption keys securely.
Often used with BitLocker.

HSM

Hardware Security Module

A separate physical device (not a drive) that manages and stores cryptographic keys.
More secure than TPM.

VPN

Virtual Private Network

Creates an encrypted tunnel over an untrusted network (like the internet).
Hides your IP address and encrypts traffic.

IPsec

Internet Protocol Security

A suite of protocols that authenticates and encrypts IP packets.
Commonly used for site-to-site VPNs.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer

An outdated cryptographic protocol for securing network communications.
Deprecated and replaced by TLS.

TLS

Transport Layer Security

The successor to SSL.
Provides secure communications over a network.
Used in HTTPS.

SSH

Secure Shell

A protocol for secure remote login and command execution on another computer.
Encrypts everything in the session.

SFTP

SSH File Transfer Protocol

A protocol for secure file transfer that runs over SSH.
It is NOT an extension of FTP.
Uses port 22.

FTPS

FTP over SSL/TLS

FTP with SSL/TLS encryption added.
Different from SFTP (which uses SSH).

SRTP

Secure Real-time Transport Protocol

Encrypts real-time communication like VoIP phone calls and video conferencing.

S/MIME

Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

A protocol for encrypting and digitally signing email messages.

WPA2

Wi-Fi Protected Access 2

A Wi-Fi security standard.
Uses CCMP for encryption.

CCMP

Counter Mode CBC MAC Protocol

The encryption protocol used by WPA2.
Replaced TKIP.

TKIP

Temporal Key Integrity Protocol

An older Wi-Fi encryption protocol used by WPA.
Deprecated and replaced by CCMP.

AES

Advanced Encryption Standard

A symmetric encryption algorithm.
The least vulnerable to attacks.
Recommended replacement for DES.
Used by WPA2, BitLocker, and many others.

DES

Data Encryption Standard

An old symmetric encryption algorithm with a 56-bit key.
Broken and deprecated.

3DES

Triple Data Encryption Standard

Applies DES three times to each block.
More secure than DES but slower.
Deprecated and replaced by AES.

RC4

Rivest Cipher 4

A stream cipher.
Weak and deprecated.
Should not be used.

IDEA

International Data Encryption Algorithm

A deprecated symmetric-key block cipher.
Largely replaced by AES.

RSA

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman

An asymmetric (public-key) encryption algorithm.
Used for digital signatures and key exchange.
Not for bulk data encryption.

DSA

Digital Signature Algorithm

An asymmetric algorithm used only for digital signatures (not encryption).

ECDSA

Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm

A more efficient version of DSA using elliptic curve cryptography.
Provides same security as RSA with smaller keys.

KEK

Key Encryption Key

A cryptographic key used to encrypt other keys.
Adds an extra layer of security in key management systems.

IKE

Internet Key Exchange

A protocol used to set up secure connections and exchange keys in IPsec VPNs.

DHE

Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral

A key exchange protocol that generates temporary (ephemeral) keys for each session.
Provides Perfect Forward Secrecy.

PFS

Perfect Forward Secrecy

A property of key exchange protocols.
If one key is stolen, past and future sessions remain secure because keys are temporary.

ESP

Encapsulating Security Payload

A protocol in IPsec that encrypts and authenticates IP packet data.

ECB

Electronic Codebook

The simplest and weakest block cipher mode.
Identical plaintext blocks produce identical ciphertext blocks.
Not recommended for use.

CBC

Cipher Block Chaining

Each ciphertext block depends on the previous block.
More secure than ECB.

CFB

Cipher Feedback

Turns a block cipher into a stream cipher.
Can encrypt individual bits or bytes.

CTM

Counter Mode

Uses a counter value plus a key to generate a stream of blocks.
Allows parallel encryption.

GCM

Galois/Counter Mode

Combines CTM for encryption with an authentication mechanism.
Provides both confidentiality and integrity.

SHA

Secure Hash Algorithm

A family of cryptographic hash functions.
Produces a fixed-size hash from any input.
Used for integrity verification.

PGP

Pretty Good Privacy

Software for encrypting files and emails.
Uses both symmetric and asymmetric encryption.

GPG

GNU Privacy Guard

The free, open-source version of PGP.
Same functionality as PGP.

IV

Initialization Vector

A random or pseudorandom value added to encryption.
Ensures the same plaintext produces different ciphertext each time.

XOR

Exclusive Or

A logical operation used in encryption and obfuscation.
Outputs true only when inputs differ.