Cryptography Fundamentals: Applying Cryptography

Cryptography Fundamentals: Applying Cryptography

• start the course
• describe and identify data that has been encrypted using the ECB mode
• specify how Cipher Block Chaining uses an IV, or initialization vector, to make data appear random
• describe how Propagating Cipher Block Chaining mode improved on CBC by causing small changes to each block encrypted
• describe the Cipher Feedback mode and how it builds on CBC and makes a block cipher into a stream cipher
• describe the Output Feedback mode and how it can use the same process for encryption and decryption
• describe the Counter mode and how It can be used for parallelizing encryption and decryption
• use a simple AES implementation to encrypt and decrypt data and compare the results to the NIST standard to confirm operation of the algorithm
• describe how the DES and 3DES algorithms work to encrypt and decrypt data
• describe the Blowfish block cipher algorithm and its properties
• describe the RC4 streaming cipher and its properties
• describe the ElGamal cipher algorithm and its usage
• describe the RSA public-key encryption and its operation
• describe the deprecated MD5 and SHA1 algorithms and the newly chosen replacement, SHA3
• apply and describe the operation of the SHA2 hashing algorithms
• describe the Hash Message Authentication Code, or HMAC, and its use to authenticate and verify the integrity of a message
• identify and describe basic key management policies and procedures
• describe how to cryptographically exchange keys securely
• identify the role and purpose of key escrow policies and procedures
• identify web browser-based secure communications and the role of certificates and Certificate Authorities (CAs)
• describe of use of SSL and TLS in security tools like the Secure Shell, or SSH
• use GPG to encrypt and decrypt an e-mail message
• describe how disk encryption works and the threats it can help protect against
• identify the features and strengths of cryptographic algorithms and how to select an algorithm for a particular usage scenario
• perform some basic cryptanalysis and describe methods to decrypt poorly encrypted data
• identify external methods that can be used to compromise, or bypass, a cryptographic system
• apply cryptographic modes and algorithms

Cryptography Fundamentals: Defining Cryptography

Cryptography Fundamentals: Defining Cryptography

• start the course
• describe and identify the reasons for having and using cryptography
• recognize historical uses of cryptography and their relevance to cryptography today
• use and identify basic cryptographic terminology
• describe why cryptography is difficult to get right and how poor cryptography can give you a false sense of security
• identify the different types of cryptography and how cryptographic algorithms can be verified and validated
• describe basic export controls and limits that can be imposed on cryptography used around the world
• describe how cryptography can keep data confidential and within limits
• describe why data integrity is an integral part of cryptography
• define how cryptography can provide a means to authenticate an entity
• describe how cryptography can be used to prove, with high certainty, that an action or statement is associated with an entity
• describe how OTP, or one-time pad, cryptography can theoretically provide perfect secrecy but has some significant limitations
• describe and use a substitution cipher and understand the weaknesses that can be exploited by an attacker against these ciphers
• describe and identify the features and use cases for symmetric-key cipher algorithms
• describe and identify the features and use cases for asymmetric-key cipher algorithms
• describe the use of steganography in encryption products to hide the fact data is even encrypted
• describe the purpose of cryptographic hash functions and how they can be used in cryptography to provide data integrity
• describe a digital signature and how it can be used for authentication and non-repudiation
• recognize the difference between blocks and key sizes as they apply to cipher algorithms
• describe and perform padding operations to data for block ciphers
• describe how to encode encrypted data for easier storage or transport
• describe the purpose of an initialization vector for a cipher algorithm and how nonces can be used to protect small datasets
• describe how entropy is used in generating random numbers and how that entropy is critical to the strength of a cryptographic key
• describe the creating, or generating, of keys and how the key strength is critical to cryptographic ciphers
• identify the cryptographic algorithm to use