The RSA algorithm is the most widely used Asymmetric Encryption algorithm deployed to date. The acronym is derived from the last names of the three mathematicians who created it in 1977: Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, Leonard Adleman. In order to understand the algorithm, there are a few terms we have to define: Prime – A number […]
Asymmetric Encryption
September 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Earlier, we learned that Symmetric encryption is an encryption scheme that uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt. Conversely, Asymmetric encryption, uses different keys to encrypt and decrypt. Lets take a look at a simple example. For the sake of simplicity, let us pretend for this example that there are only the lower case letters a – […]
Hashing Algorithm
September 21, 2015 By Leave a Comment
The first concept we need to discuss in our exploration of Cryptography is that of a Hashing Algorithm. A Hashing Algorithm is a mathematical formula that takes a Message of arbitrary length as input and produces as output a representational sample of the original data. For instance, a rudimentary example of a hashing algorithm is simply adding […]
Message Integrity
September 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment
In the world of secured communications, Message Integrity describes the concept of ensuring that data has not been modified in transit. This is typically accomplished with the use of a Hashing algorithm. We learned earlier what a Hashing Algorithm does. Now we can take a look at how they are actually used to provide Message Integrity. The basic premise is […]
Symmetric Encryption
September 16, 2015 By 5 Comments
We learned earlier that Symmetric encryption is an encryption scheme that encrypts and decrypts using the same secret key. Now we will explore a bit further into what that involves. Let’s start with a simple example: As pictured, if we start with the plain text hello, and use a Symmetric encryption algorithm of simply rotating the […]
Confidentiality
September 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Confidentiality is the concept of hiding or scrambling your data so that only the intended recipient has access. This is typically accomplished by some means of Encryption. Data before it has been encrypted is referred to as Plain text, or Clear text. After the data has been encrypted, it is referred to as Cipher text. The Cipher text should be completely […]
Mission Statement
August 21, 2015 By 2 Comments
If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself. –Albert Einstein The truest test to determine whether you know something or not is to try to explain it to someone else. Often, it’s in the process of explaining it to another that you finally master it yourself. I’ve found […]