EC-Council Certified Encryption Specialist ECES 212-81 Exam Questions

Answer : D

VeraCrypt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VeraCrypt

VeraCrypt is a source-available freeware utility used for on-the-fly encryption (OTFE). It can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file or encrypt a partition or (in Windows) the entire storage device with pre-boot authentication.

Incorrect answers:

PGP - designed by Phil Zimmerman as a freeware e-mail security program and was released in 1991. It was the first widespread public key encryption program.

VPN - A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. Applications running across a VPN may therefore benefit from the functionality, security, and management of the private network. Encryption is a common, although not an inherent, part of a VPN connection

Cryptool - an open-source project that focuses on the free e-learning software CrypTool illustrating cryptographic and cryptanalytic concepts. According to 'Hakin9', CrypTool is worldwide the most widespread e-learning software in the field of cryptology.

Answer : C

Kerberos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberos_(protocol)

Kerberos is a computer-network authentication protocol that works on the basis of tickets to allow nodes communicating over a non-secure network to prove their identity to one another in a secure manner. The protocol was named after the character Kerberos (or Cerberus) from Greek mythology, the ferocious three-headed guard dog of Hades. Its designers aimed it primarily at a client--server model and it provides mutual authentication---both the user and the server verify each other's identity. Kerberos protocol messages are protected against eavesdropping and replay attacks.

Kerberos builds on symmetric key cryptography and requires a trusted third party, and optionally may use public-key cryptography during certain phases of authentication. Kerberos uses UDP port 88 by default.

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ElGamal - ElGamal encryption system is an asymmetric key encryption algorithm for public-key cryptography which is based on the Diffie--Hellman key exchange. It was described by Taher Elgamal in 1985. ElGamal encryption is used in the free GNU Privacy Guard software, recent versions of PGP, and other cryptosystems. The Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) is a variant of the ElGamal signature scheme, which should not be confused with ElGamal encryption.

Diffie-Hellman - Diffie--Hellman key exchange is a method of securely exchanging cryptographic keys over a public channel and was one of the first public-key protocols as conceived by Ralph Merkle and named after Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman.[1][2] DH is one of the earliest practical examples of public key exchange implemented within the field of cryptography. Published in 1976 by Diffie and Hellman, this is the earliest publicly known work that proposed the idea of a private key and a corresponding public key.

Yarrow - algorithm is a family of cryptographic pseudorandom number generators (CPRNG) devised by John Kelsey, Bruce Schneier, and Niels Ferguson and published in 1999. The Yarrow algorithm is explicitly unpatented, royalty-free, and open source; no license is required to use it. Yarrow is incorporated in iOS and macOS for their /dev/random devices, and was in FreeBSD (where it is superseded by Fortuna).

Answer : B

The problem of key exchange

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetric-key_algorithm

Symmetric-key algorithms are algorithms for cryptography that use the same cryptographic keys for both encryption of plaintext and decryption of ciphertext. The keys may be identical or there may be a simple transformation to go between the two keys. The keys, in practice, represent a shared secret between two or more parties that can be used to maintain a private information link. This requirement that both parties have access to the secret key is one of the main drawbacks of symmetric key encryption, in comparison to public-key encryption (also known as asymmetric key encryption).

Answer : D

Diffie-Hellman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffie%E2%80%93Hellman_key_exchange

Diffie-Hellman key exchange is a method of securely exchanging cryptographic keys over a public channel and was one of the first public-key protocols as originally conceptualized by Ralph Merkle and named after Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman. DH is one of the earliest practical examples of public key exchange implemented within the field of cryptography.

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Elliptic Curve - Asymmetric Key Algorithm, provides encryption, digital signatures, key exchange, based on the idea of using points on a curve to define the public/private key, used in wireless devices and smart cards. The security of the Elliptic Curve cryptography is based on the fact that finding the discrete logarithm of a random elliptic curve element with respect to a publicly known base point is difficult to the point of being impractical to do so. (y2 = x3 + Ax + B) - Developed by Victor Miller and Neil Koblitz in 1985

MD5 - hash function - Created by Ronald Rivest. Replaced MD4. 128 bit output size, 512 bit block size, 32 bit word size, 64 rounds. Infamously compromised by Flame malware in 2012. Not collision resistant - Not Reversible - RFC 1321

RSA - is a public-key cryptosystem that is widely used for secure data transmission.

Answer : C

Each block of plaintext is XORed with the previous ciphertext block before being encrypted

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_cipher_mode_of_operation#Cipher_block_chaining_(CBC)

In CBC mode, each block of plaintext is XORed with the previous ciphertext block before being encrypted. This way, each ciphertext block depends on all plaintext blocks processed up to that point. To make each message unique, an initialization vector must be used in the first block.

Answer : C

A pseudo random number generator

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_congruential_generator

A linear congruential generator (LCG) is an algorithm that yields a sequence of pseudo-randomized numbers calculated with a discontinuous piecewise linear equation. The method represents one of the oldest and best-known pseudorandom number generator algorithms. The theory behind them is relatively easy to understand, and they are easily implemented and fast, especially on computer hardware which can provide modular arithmetic by storage-bit truncation.

Answer : B

Global deduction

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptanalysis

Global deduction --- the attacker discovers a functionally equivalent algorithm for encryption and decryption, but without learning the key.

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Instance (local) deduction --- the attacker discovers additional plaintexts (or ciphertexts) not previously known.

Information deduction --- the attacker gains some Shannon information about plaintexts (or ciphertexts) not previously known.

Total break --- the attacker deduces the secret key.