About Me
CompTIA Security+
1 Threats, Attacks, and Vulnerabilities
1-1 Types of Threats
1-2 Types of Attacks
1-3 Vulnerabilities
1-4 Threat Actors and Motives
1-5 Threat Intelligence
1-6 Incident Response
1-7 Penetration Testing
1-8 Vulnerability Scanning
1-9 Threat Modeling
1-10 Security Controls
2 Technologies and Tools
2-1 Firewalls
2-2 Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)
2-3 Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)
2-4 Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
2-5 Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
2-6 Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR)
2-7 Endpoint Security
2-8 Network Security
2-9 Cloud Security
2-10 Mobile Device Security
2-11 Secure Coding Practices
2-12 Cryptography
2-13 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
2-14 Certificate Management
2-15 Security Tools and Utilities
3 Architecture and Design
3-1 Security Models
3-2 Security Controls
3-3 Secure Network Design
3-4 Secure Systems Design
3-5 Secure Application Design
3-6 Secure Cloud Architecture
3-7 Secure Mobile Architecture
3-8 Secure IoT Architecture
3-9 Secure Data Storage
3-10 Secure Backup and Recovery
3-11 Security in DevOps
3-12 Security in Agile Development
3-13 Security in Continuous IntegrationContinuous Deployment (CICD)
3-14 Security in Configuration Management
3-15 Security in Identity and Access Management (IAM)
4 Identity and Access Management
4-1 Authentication Methods
4-2 Authorization Mechanisms
4-3 Identity and Access Management (IAM) Concepts
4-4 Single Sign-On (SSO)
4-5 Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
4-6 Federation
4-7 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
4-8 Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)
4-9 Identity as a Service (IDaaS)
4-10 Identity Lifecycle Management
4-11 Access Reviews and Audits
4-12 Privileged Access Management (PAM)
4-13 Identity Federation
4-14 Identity Provisioning and Deprovisioning
5 Risk Management
5-1 Risk Management Concepts
5-2 Risk Assessment
5-3 Risk Mitigation Strategies
5-4 Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
5-5 Risk Register
5-6 Risk Treatment
5-7 Risk Monitoring and Reporting
5-8 Risk Appetite and Tolerance
5-9 Risk Communication
5-10 Risk Transfer
5-11 Risk Acceptance
5-12 Risk Avoidance
5-13 Risk Reduction
5-14 Risk in Cloud Environments
5-15 Risk in Mobile Environments
5-16 Risk in IoT Environments
6 Cryptography and PKI
6-1 Cryptographic Concepts
6-2 Symmetric Encryption
6-3 Asymmetric Encryption
6-4 Hashing
6-5 Digital Signatures
6-6 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
6-7 Certificate Management
6-8 Certificate Authorities (CAs)
6-9 Certificate Revocation
6-10 Key Management
6-11 Cryptographic Protocols
6-12 Cryptographic Attacks
6-13 Quantum Cryptography
6-14 Post-Quantum Cryptography
6-15 Cryptographic Use Cases
7 Security Operations
7-1 Security Operations Concepts
7-2 Security Policies and Procedures
7-3 Security Awareness and Training
7-4 Security Monitoring and Logging
7-5 Incident Response
7-6 Forensics
7-7 Disaster Recovery
7-8 Business Continuity
7-9 Physical Security
7-10 Personnel Security
7-11 Supply Chain Security
7-12 Third-Party Risk Management
7-13 Security Audits and Assessments
7-14 Compliance and Regulatory Requirements
7-15 Security Metrics and Reporting
7-16 Security Operations Center (SOC)
7-17 Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR)
7-18 Security in DevOps
7-19 Security in Agile Development
7-20 Security in Continuous IntegrationContinuous Deployment (CICD)
2.12 Cryptography Explained

2.12 Cryptography Explained

Key Concepts

Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties. It involves the transformation of data to prevent unauthorized access. Key concepts in cryptography include encryption, decryption, symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and cryptographic hash functions.

Encryption and Decryption

Encryption is the process of converting plaintext into ciphertext using an encryption algorithm and a key. Decryption is the reverse process, converting ciphertext back into plaintext using a decryption algorithm and the corresponding key.

Example: Think of encryption as locking a message in a safe, and decryption as unlocking the safe to retrieve the message. The key is the combination that allows access to the contents of the safe.

Symmetric Encryption

Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encryption and decryption. It is faster and more efficient than asymmetric encryption but requires a secure method for key exchange.

Example: Imagine a shared secret code between two friends. They both use the same code to encode and decode messages. The challenge is ensuring that only they know the code.

Asymmetric Encryption

Asymmetric encryption uses a pair of keys: a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption. It provides better security but is computationally more intensive than symmetric encryption.

Example: Consider a mailbox with a slot for incoming mail (public key) and a key to open the mailbox (private key). Anyone can post a letter in the slot, but only the owner with the key can open the mailbox to retrieve the letter.

Cryptographic Hash Functions

Cryptographic hash functions produce a fixed-size hash value from an input of arbitrary size. They are used for data integrity verification and password storage. A good hash function ensures that even a small change in the input results in a significantly different hash value.

Example: Think of a hash function as a fingerprint for data. Just as each person has a unique fingerprint, each piece of data has a unique hash value. If the data changes, the fingerprint changes as well.

Conclusion

Cryptography is essential for securing communication and data. By understanding encryption, decryption, symmetric and asymmetric encryption, and cryptographic hash functions, you can better protect information from unauthorized access and ensure data integrity.

© 2024 Ahmed Baheeg Khorshid. All rights reserved.