Network security paper

Q1 _______________ is a symmetric block cipher, uses a 64 bit key, puts the data through 16 rounds of transposition and
substitution, and has 5 different modes of operation.
AES
DES
Blowfish
None of above
Q2 Examples of asymmetric key algorithms are:
Diffie Hellman, RSA and El-Gamal
RC4, RC5, and RC6
DES, 3DES, and AES
MD4, MD5, and MD6
Q3 The standard used in digital certificates that defines its structure, fields, and values is
Kerberos
End-to-end encryption
X.509
The standard used in IPSEC VPNs
Q4 A cryptosystem consists of:
Software, algorithms, protocols, and keys
PGP
An algorithm used for encryption and decryption
Is software used for testing security of applications
Q5 Cryptanalysis is:
The practice of analyzing secret codes but not breaking them
The technique used by forensic investigators to trace the source of malware infection
The science related to research and development of cryptography
The practice of breaking cryptic systems
Q6 An electro-mechanical cipher machine used by the Germans in World War II is _________________
MAC
Enigma
Skytale
All above
Q7 A digital signature is best described as:
An electronic verification system used for transactional integrity in banking
A hash value encrypted by the senders private key
An electronic verification system used for encryption and hashing
A hash value encrypted with the DES, 3DES, or AES algorithms
Q8 A practice of Choosing a key that is extremely random and the algorithm should use the full range of the key-space is
called ______________________.
Cipher management
Key combination
Key management
None of above
Q9 _____________________ uses two instances of the same key while encrypting and decrypting messages.
Skytale
Symmetric Cryptography
Asymmetric Cryptography
SSL
Q10 _______________ is a program and protocol used to log in securely to another device or system on a network.
Secure Shell (SSH)
SSL
HTTP
PGP

Q:11 In Network Security CIA stands for:

Confidentiality, integrity, and. availability

Central Investigation Agency
Confidentiality, Intelligence, and Accountability
Ciphers, Initiation Vectors, Algorithms
Q:12 Examples of asymmetric key algorithms are:

Diffie Hellman, RSA and El-Gamal

RC4, RC5, and RC6
DES, 3DES, and AES
MD4, MD5, and MD6
Q:13 A mathematical function that is easier to compute in one direction than in the other direction, and forms the basis for
all asymmetric algorithms
 One-Way Function
Two Way Function
A mathematical function used in cryptanalysis
A technique used by forensic experts to lock all hard disk sectors of a computer

Q:14 A hash value encrypted by the senders private key is ______________

AES
Digital signature
DES
3DES algorithms

Q:15 Cryptanalysis is:

The practice of analyzing secret codes but not breaking them

The technique used by forensic investigators to trace the source of malware infection
The science related to research and development of cryptography
The practice of breaking cryptic systems

Q:16 Key management is a practice that requires:

Choosing a key that is extremely random and the algorithm should use the full range of the key-space
Labeling keys so that they are not lost or stolen
Returning the key to the CA after it has completed its lifetime
At least two senior officers of the company to issue and maintain a record of the keys
Q:17 In end-to-end encryption:

only the header is encrypted, not the payload

Packets do not need to be decrypted and then encrypted at each hop
Only decryption takes place at each hop
The data link and physical layers are involved

Q:18 Rootkits are a type of ____________________.

Virus
Worm.
Trojan Horse
None of above
Q:19 Diffie Hellman is an example of _____________ key algorithms.

Symmetric
Asymmetric
Skytale
Enigma

Q:20 The standard used in digital certificates that defines its structure, fields, and values is ____________________.
X.509
Kerberose
Cryptography
PKI
Part-I Short Questions (5 marks each)

1. What is the difference between active attacks and passive attacks?

ACTIVE ATTACK:
From the word active,it is clear that it is nothing but direct attack.In this case the attacked one gets aware of the
attack.Suppose,someone installed a logic bomb to your PC & after clicking on it,your PC starts to be shutdown.
PASSIVE ATTACK
It is indirect attack.The attacked host is completely unaware about this,hence it is called passive attack.Like
as,the attacker is trying to observe the host.
It is very hard to say which one is more harmful between active and passive attack.Sometimes active attack and
sometimes it may be passive attack also.
2. In context of hashing what is meant by compression.

Compression must occur before encryption, because compression is inefficient on encrypted data: compression
algorithms work on detecting redundancies and structure in the data, and encryption is designed to hide
redundancies and structure. Basically, compression does not work at all on properly encrypted data. Conversely,
if compression works on encrypted data, then the encryption layer should be viewed with deep suspicion...
When hashing occurs in PGP, it is as part of a signature algorithm, or as an integrity check which is generally
known as a MAC. There are several ways to do a MAC; the theoretical "good" way is to apply the MAC on the
encrypted data. However, PGP dates from an older time where theory was not yet fully worked out, and uses a
hash value (i.e. a function which as no key) and then includes the hash in the encrypted data (see section 5.13);
the hash value is turned into a MAC by virtue of reusing the encryption key. In the case of such a MAC, the
MAC (i.e. the underlying hash) occurs on whatever is encrypted, so that's the compressed data (if compression
was used at all). Since you talk about compression "between" the hash and the encryption, then I suppose that
you are not talking about that hash at all.
Compressing a sequence of characters drawn from an alphabet uses string substitution with no a priori
information. An input data block is processed into an output data block comprised of variable length
incompressible data sections and variable length compressed token sections. Multiple hash tables are used based
on different subblock sizes for string matching, and this improves the compression ratio and rate of
compression. The plurality of uses of the multiple hash tables allows for selection of an appropriate
compression data rate and/or compression factor in relation to the input data. Using multiple hashing tables with
a recoverable hashing method further improves compression ratio and compression rate. Each incompressible
data section contains means to distinguish it from compressed token sections.

3. What is X.509 standard?

PKI is an ISO authentication framework that uses public key cryptography and the X.509 standard.
In cryptography, X.509 is an ITU-T standard for a public key infrastructure (PKI) and Privilege Management
Infrastructure (PMI). X.509 specifies, amongst other things, standard formats for public key
certificates, certificate revocation lists, attribute certificates, and a certification path validation algorithm.
The standard for how the CA creates the certificate is X.509, which dictates the different fields used in the
certificate and the valid values that can populate those fields
We are currently at version 4 of this standard, which is often denoted as X.509v4. Many cryptographic protocols
use this type of certificate, including SSL.
The certificate includes the serial number, version number, identity information, algorithm information, lifetime
dates, and the signature of the issuing authority.
.4. What are one way functions? How they are implemented in cryptography?

A one-way function is a mathematical function that is easier to compute in one direction than in the opposite
direction.
An analogy of this is when you drop a glass on the floor. Although dropping a glass on the floor is easy, putting
all the pieces back together again to reconstruct the original glass is next to impossible.
This concept is similar to how a one-way function is used in cryptography, which is what the RSA
algorithm, and all other asymmetric algorithms, is based upon.
The easy direction of computation in the one-way function that is used in the RSA algorithm is the process of
multiplying two large prime numbers.

Multiplying the two numbers to get the resulting product is much easier than factoring the product and
recovering the two initial large prime numbers used to calculate the obtained product, which is the difficult
direction.
RSA is based on the difficulty of factoring large numbers that are the product of two large prime numbers.
Attacks on these types of cryptosystems do not necessarily try every possible key value, but rather try to factor
the large number, which will give the attacker the private key.
When a user encrypts a message with a public key, this message is encoded with a one-way function (breaking a
glass). This function supplies a trapdoor (knowledge of how to put the glass back together), but the only way
the trapdoor can be taken advantage of is; if it is known about and the correct code is applied. The private key
provides this service.
The private key knows about the trapdoor, knows how to derive the original prime numbers, and has the
necessary programming code to take advantage of this secret trapdoor to unlock the encoded message
(reassembling the broken glass). Knowing about the trapdoor and having the correct functionality to take
advantage of it are what make the private key private.

When a one-way function is carried out in the easy direction, encryption and digital signature verification
functionality are available. When the one-way function is carried out in the hard direction, decryption and
signature generation functionality are available.
This means only the public key can carry out encryption and signature verification and only the private key can
carry out decryption and signature generation.
Part-II Long Questions (10 marks each)

1. What security measures are adopted in the layers of OSI model.

The OSI reference model for networking (ISO 7498-1) is designed around seven layers arranged in a stack. The OSI
security architecture reference model (ISO 7498-2) is also designed around seven layers, reflecting a high level view of
the different requirements within network security.
Layers (ISO 7498-
ISO 7498-2 Security Model
1)
Application Authentication
Presentation Access Control
Session Non-Repudiation
Transport Data Integrity
Network Confidentiality
Data Link Assurance / Availability
Physical Notarization / Signature

1. What security measures are adopted in the layers of OSI Model.

In the OSI model approach, security is addressed at each layer of the OSI model, shown below. By comparing
in depth the OSI model with the concept of Application Security by Defense, IT managers better understand that
securing enterprise application is more than authentication, encryption, OS hardening, etc. At each level of the
OSI model there are
Security vulnerabilities and, therefore, security prevention measures that can be taken to ensure that enterprise
applications are protected. Importantly, the capability IT managers have to mitigate risks decreases at the higher
OSI model layers.

One reason IT managers have less power to protect applications at the higher OSI layers is that at these higher layers,
developers have much more influence over security measures.
However, security measures are possible at every OSI layer. Addressing security threats at every layer reduces the risk of
enterprise application compromise or Denial of Service.
Examples of vulnerabilities and solutions at each layer provide a better understanding of the topics presented.

Risks/Attacks and their Measures

The OSI Physical layer represents physical application security, which includes access control, power, fire, water, and
backups. Many of the threats to security at the Physical layer cause a Denial of Service (DoS) of the enterprise
application, making the application unavailable to enterprise users.
Physical locks, both on equipment and facilities housing the equipment, are imperative to keep intruders out. In order to
use information one must have access to it. Security cables on laptops and system cases with power button locks are
examples of procuring equipment with physical security capabilities.
The Data, or Data Link, layer of the OSI model encompasses switch security topics such as ARP spoofing, MAC
flooding and spanning tree attacks.
Simple configuration changes to the network switch can help protect enterprise applications from Data layer attacks.
The Network and Transport layersof the OSI model are where the most common security
precautions take place this layer is where routers and firewalls are implemented. Threats that occur at this level are
unauthorized retrieval of endpoint identity, unauthorized access to internal systems, SYN flood attacks and ping of
death.
Implementing Network Address Translation, Access Control Lists, and firewall technologies mitigates these
risks.
The Session and Presentation layers are the lower layers of the Application Set of the OSI model. At these
layers the IT managers ability to mitigate application security risk begins to diminish as developers take a
bigger role in protecting applications.
IT managers can prevent unauthorized login/password accesses and unauthorized data accesses, which are
common attacks at these layers, by using encryption and authentication methods.
The Application layer is the final layer of the Application Set and the OSI model. Many security protection
methods are the responsibility of the programmer at this layer. Backdoor attacks occur at this level and it is the
programmers responsibility to close those doors.
IT managers can use access control methods described to assist in preventing backdoor attacks; also, IT
managers can set up tools such as virus scanners, WebInspect, and intrusion detection devices to help prevent
compromise of enterprise applications.

2. Define and discuss various components of PKI infrastructure.

The comprehensive system required to provide public-key encryption and digital signature services is known as
a public-key infrastructure. The purpose of a public-key infrastructure is to manage keys and certificates. By
managing keys and certificates through a PKI, an organization establishes and maintains a trustworthy
networking environment. A PKI enables the use of encryption and digital signature services across a wide
variety of applications.

A PKI may be made up of the following entities and functions:

CA(Certificate Authority)
RA(Registration Authority)
Certificate repository
Certificate revocation system
Key backup and recovery system
Automatic key update&Management of key histories
Timestamping
Client-side software

The detail of each component is as follows:

1. CA (Certificate Authority )
A CA is a trusted organization (or server) that maintains and issues digital certificates. When a person requests a
certificate, the registration authority (RA) verifies that individuals identity and passes the certificate request off
to the CA.

The CA constructs the certificate, signs it, sends it to the requester, and maintains the certificate over its
lifetime.

When another person wants to communicate with this person, the CA will basically vouch for that persons
identity

2. RA (Registration authority)
The registration authority (RA) performs the certification registration duties. The RA establishes and confirms
the identity of an individual, initiates the certification process with a CA on behalf of an end user, and performs
certificate life-cycle management functions.

The RA cannot issue certificates, but can act as a broker between the user and the CA. When users need new
certificates, they make requests to the RA, and the RA verifies all necessary identification information before
allowing a request to go to the CA.

3. Certificate repository
Certificate repositories store certificates so that applications can retrieve them on behalf of users. The term
repository refers to a network service that allows for distribution of certificates.Over the past few years, the
consensus in the information technology industry is that the best technology for certificate repositories is
provided by directory systems that are LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)-compliant.

4. Certificate revocation system

Certificates that are no longer trustworthy must be revoked by the CA.There are numerous reasons why a
certificate may need to be revoked prior to the end of its validity period. For instance, the private key (that is,
either the signing key or the decryption key) corresponding to the public key in the certificate may be
compromised. Alternatively, an organizations security policy may dictate that the certificates of employees
leaving the organization must be revoked. In these situations, users in the system must be informed that
continued use of the certificate is no longer considered secure. The revocation status of a certificate must be
checked prior to each use. As a result, a PKI must incorporate a scalable certificate revocation system. The CA
must be able to securely publish information regarding the status of each certificate in the system. Application
software, on behalf of users, must then verify the revocation information prior to each use of a certificate. The
combination of publishing and consistently using certificate revocation information constitutes a complete
revocation system.

CRL: The most popular means for distributing certificate revocation information is for the CA to create secure
certificate revocation lists (CRLs) and publish these CRLs to a directory system. CRLs specify the unique serial
numbers of all revoked certificates. Prior to using a certificate, the client-side application must check the
appropriate CRL to determine if the certificate is still trustworthy. Client-side applications must check for
revoked certificates consistently and transparently on behalf of users.

5. Key backup and recovery system

To ensure users are protected against loss of data, the PKI must support a system for backup and recovery of
decryption keys. With respect to administrative costs, it is unacceptable for each application to provide its own
key backup and recovery. Instead, all PKI-enabled client applications should interact with a single key backup
and recovery system. The interactions between the client-side software and the key backup and recovery system
must be secure, and the interaction method must be consistent across all PKI-enabled applications.

6. Key update and management of key histories:

Cryptographic key pairs should not be used forever. They must be updated over time. As a result, every
organization needs to consider two important issues:

Updating users key pairs, and

Maintaining, where appropriate, the history of previous key pairs.

Updating users key pairs: The process of updating keys pairs should be transparent to users. This
transparency means users do not have to understand that key update needs to take place and they will never
experience a denial of service because their keys are no longer valid. To ensure transparency and prevent
denial of service, users? key pairs must be automatically updated before they expire.

Maintaining histories of key pairs: When encryption key pairs are updated, the history of previous decryption
keys must be maintained. This key history allows users to access any of their prior decryption keys to decrypt
data. (When data is encrypted with a users encryption key, only the corresponding decryption keythe paired
keycan be used for decrypting). To ensure transparency, the client-side software must automatically manage
users? histories of decryption keys.

7. Timestamping

Trusted Timestamping is the process of securely keeping track of the creation and modification time of a
document. Security here means that no one not even the owner of the document should be able to change
it once it has been recorded provided that the timestamper's integrity is never compromised.
The administrative aspect involves setting up a publicly available, trusted timestamp management infrastructure
to collect, process and renew timestamps

8. Client-side software

A consistent, easy-to-use PKI implementation within client-side software lowers PKI operating costs. In
addition, client-side software must be technologically enabled to support all of the elements of a PKI discussed
earlier in this paper. The following list summarizes the requirements client-side software must meet to ensure
that users in a business receive a usable, transparent (and thus, acceptable) PKI.

9. Support for Non-repudiation

Repudiation occurs when an individual denies involvement in a transaction. (For instance, when someone
claims a credit card is stolen, this means that he or she is repudiating liability for transactions that occur with
that card anytime after reporting the theft).

Non-repudiation means that an individual cannot successfully deny involvement in a transaction. In the paper-
world, individuals signatures legally bind them to their transactions (for example, credit card charges, business
contracts ). The signature prevents repudiation of those transactions. In the electronic world, the replacement
for the pen-based signature is a digital signature. All types of electronic commerce require digital signatures
because electronic commerce makes traditional pen-based signatures obsolete.

Short Questions (5 marks each)

1. Why CIA is essential for Network Security

Confidentiality
Confidentiality means that people cannot read sensitive information, either while it is on
a computer or while it is traveling across a network.
Integrity
Integrity means that attackers cannot change or destroy information, either while it is on a
computer or while it is traveling across a network.
Or, at least, if information is changed or destroyed, then the receiver can detect the
change or restore destroyed data.
Availability
Availability means that people who are authorized to use information are not prevented
from doing so
All these security goals are very essential for the proper delivery of message and data over a network.

Because for a secure network, its transferred data must read, changed or destroyed and it must be available to
the authorized users at any cost. So All these three goals are so important.

2. Why Symmetric Key encryption Algorithm is used in an organization. Give its advantages and draw
backs.

Strengths (Advantages)
Much faster (less computationally intensive) than asymmetric systems
Hard to break if using a large key size
Weaknesses (Drawbacks)
Requires a secure mechanism to deliver keys properly
Each pair of users needs a unique key, so as the number of individuals increases, so does the number of
keys, possibly making key management overwhelming
Provides confidentiality but not authenticity or nonrepudiation

3. Enlist 5 modes of DES

Electronic Code Book (ECB)
Cipher Block Chaining (CBC)
Cipher Feedback (CFB)
Output Feedback (OFB)
Counter Mode (CTR)

.4. Give Five examples of symmetric Algorithms.

Data Encryption Standard (DES)
Triple-DES (3DES)
Blowfish
IDEA (International Data Encryption Algorithm)
RC4, RC5, and RC6
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
5. Write essential ingredients of Symmetric Ciphers.

Plaintext
Encryption algorithm
Secret key
Cipher text
Long Questions (10 marks each)
1. Discuss the strength of Cryptosystem on basis of different parameters 10

The strength of an encryption method comes from the algorithm, the secrecy of the key, the length of the
key, the initialization vectors, and how they all work together within the cryptosystem.
When strength is discussed in encryption, it refers to how hard it is to figure out the algorithm or key,
whichever is not made public.
The strength of an encryption method correlates to the amount of necessary processing power, resources,
and time required to break the cryptosystem or to figure out the value of the key.
Breaking a cryptosystem can be accomplished by a brute force attack, which means trying every
possible key value until the resulting plaintext is meaningful
Depending on the algorithm and length of the key, this can be an easy task or one that is close to
impossible
The goal when designing an encryption method is to make compromising it too expensive or too time-
consuming
Another name for cryptography strength is work factor, which is an estimate of the effort and resources
it would take an attacker to penetrate a cryptosystem

Important elements of encryption are to use an algorithm without flaws, use a large key size, use all
possible values within the keyspace, and to protect the actual key.

If one element is weak, it could be the link that dooms the whole process.Even if a user employs an algorithm
that has all the requirements for strong encryption, including a large keyspace and a large and random key
value, if he shares his key with others, the strength of the algorithm becomes almost irrelevant.

2. Explain the working of DES ( Long ) 10

How Does DES Work ?

DES is a symmetric block encryption algorithm. When 64-bit blocks of plaintext go in, 64-bit blocks of
ciphertext come out.
It is also a symmetric algorithm, meaning the same key is used for encryption and decryption.
It uses a 64-bit key: 56 bits make up the true key, and 8 bits are used for parity.
When the DES algorithm is applied to data, it divides the message into blocks and operates on them one
at a time.
The blocks are put through 16 rounds of transposition and substitution functions.
The order and type of transposition and substitution functions depend on the value of the key used with
the algorithm.
The result is 64-bit blocks of ciphertext.

What Does It Mean When an Algorithm Is Broken?

In most instances, an algorithm is broken if someone is able to uncover a key that was used during an
encryption process.
So lets say Ali encrypted a message and sent it to Bilal. Zaheer captures this encrypted message and carries out
a brute force attack on it, which means he tries to decrypt the message with different keys until he uncovers the
right one.
Once he identifies this key, the algorithm is considered broken. So does that mean the algorithm is worthless?
If an algorithm is broken through a brute force attack, this just means the attacker identified the one key that
was used for one instance of encryption.
But in proper implementations, we should be encrypting data with session keys, which are good only for that
one session. So even if the attacker uncovers one session key, it may be useless to the attacker, in which case he
now has to work to identify a new session key.
So breaking an algorithm can take place through brute force attacks or by identifying weaknesses in the
algorithm itself. Brute force attacks have increased in potency because of the increased processing capacity of
computers today.
An algorithm that uses a 40-bit key has around 1 trillion possible key values. If a 56-bit key is used, then there
are approximately 72 quadrillion different key values. Relative to todays computing power, these key sizes do
not provide much protection at all.
3. List and briefly describe the parts of digital certificates
Serial number
Version number
 Identity information
Algorithm information
Lifetime dates

Signature of the issuing authority etc as shown in the Figure.

Paper3 - Ehsan Ullah:

1. What are payloads? How they can be harmful? Explain with the help of an example.
a. Pieces of code that do damage
b. Implemented by viruses and worms after propagation
c. Malicious payloads are designed to do heavy damage
1. Benign payloads merely pop up a message on the users screen or do some other annoying but nonlethal
damage
2. Malicious payloads can do extreme damage, for example, by randomly deleting files from the victims
hard disk drive or by installing some other types of malware
3. Virus and worm payloads also frequently soften up the computer by disabling its antivirus software and
by taking other actions that leave it highly vulnerable to subsequent virus and worm attacks
Example:
In 2004, the Aberdeen group surveyed 162 companies. They found that each firm lost an average of USD 2
million per virus or worm incident and spent an additional USD 100,000 to clean up computers after an attack.
Both numbers increased with company size. Most companies reported enduring on average one incident per
year, although many firms reported multiple incidents. (http://www.aberdeen.com)

2. If you are supposed to implement one-time pad encryption scheme, which requirements do you
think, each pad fulfill so that it is unbreakable?
For a one-time pad encryption scheme to be considered unbreakable, each pad in the scheme must be:
Made up of truly random values
Used only one time
Securely distributed to its destination
Secured at senders and receivers sites
At least as long as the message

A number generator is used to create a stream of random values and must be seeded by an initial value. This
piece of software obtains its seeding value from some component within the computer system (time, CPU
cycles, and so on).
Although a computer system is complex, it is a predictable environment, so if the seeding value is predictable in
any way, the resulting values created are not truly randombut pseudorandom.

3. Why is the middle portion of 3DES a decryption rather than an encryption?

3DES Modes
DES-EEE3 Uses three different keys for encryption, and the data are encrypted, encrypted, encrypted
DES-EDE3 Uses three different keys for encryption, and the data are encrypted, decrypted, and encrypted
DES-EEE2 The same as DES-EEE3 but uses only two keys, and the first and third encryption processes use the
same key
DES-EDE2 The same as DES-EDE3 but uses only two keys, and the first and third encryption processes use
the same key
EDE ( Middle Portion ) ?
EDE may seem a little odd at first. How much protection could be provided by encrypting something,
decrypting it, and encrypting it again? The decrypting portion here is decrypted with a different key. When data
are encrypted with one symmetric key and decrypted with a different symmetric key, it is jumbled(misordered)
even more. So the data are not actually decrypted in the middle function, they are just run through a decryption
process with a different key.
4. Enlist three approaches to message authentication.
1. Message Authentication Using Conventional Encryption
Only the sender and receiver should share a key
2. Message Authentication without Message Encryption
An authentication tag is generated and appended to each message
3. Message Authentication Code
Calculate the MAC as a function of the message and the key. MAC = F(K, M)
5. How is an X.509 certificate revoked?
Unsolved
6. PKI Security Services
PKI supplies the following security services:
Confidentiality
Access control
Integrity
Authentication
Nonrepudiation
7. What are the two basic types of symmetric encryption? Elaborate each with the help of example.
Symmetric encryption ciphers come in two basic types:
Substitution
Transposition
Substitution cipher
The substitution cipher replaces bits, characters, or blocks of characters with different bits, characters,
or blocks

A substitution cipher uses a key to dictate how the substitution should be carried out
In the Caesar cipher, each letter is replaced with the letter three places beyond it in the alphabet. The
algorithm is the alphabet, and the key is the instruction shift up three.
Substitution is used in todays symmetric algorithms, but it is extremely complex compared to this
example

Transposition Ciphers
In a transposition cipher, the values are scrambled, or put into a different order
The key determines the positions the values are moved to, as illustrated in the Figure
 This is a simplistic example of a transposition cipher and only shows one way of performing
transposition
When implemented with complex mathematical functions, transpositions can become quite sophisticated
and difficult to break
8. What are the attributes that make the symmetric cryptography so powerful? Also give the
limitations while using the symmetric key cryptography. 10
Symmetric Cryptography
In a cryptosystem that uses symmetric cryptography, the sender and receiver use two instances of the
same key for encryption and decryption, as shown in the Figure
So the key has dual functionality, in that it can carry out both encryption and decryption processes

Attributes that make it so Powerful

Much faster (less computationally intensive) than asymmetric systems
Hard to break if using a large key size
It is relatively inexpensive to produce a strong key for these ciphers.
The keys tend to be much smaller for the level of protection they afford.
The algorithms are relatively inexpensive to process

Therefore, implementing symmetric cryptography (particularly with hardware) can be highly effective because
you do not experience any significant time delay as a result of the encryption and decryption. Symmetric
cryptography also provides a degree of authentication because data encrypted with one symmetric key cannot
be decrypted with any other symmetric key. Therefore, as long as the symmetric key is kept secret by the two
parties using it to encrypt communications, each party can be sure that it is communicating with the other as
long as the decrypted messages continue to make sense.

Limitations
Secure key distribution
Scalability
Security services

Symmetric cryptosystems have a problem of key transportation. The secretkey is to be transmitted to the
receiving system before the actual message is tobe transmitted. Every means of electronic
communication is insecure as it isimpossible to guarantee that no one will be able to tap
communicationchannels. So the only secure way of exchanging keys would be exchangingthem
personally.
Each pair of users needs a unique key, so as the number of individuals increases, so does the number of
keys, possibly making key management overwhelming.
Provides confidentiality but not authenticity or nonrepudiation
Cannot provide digital signatures that cannot be repudiated.

9. In the context of Kerberos, Explain the concept of realm?

A Kerberos realm is a set of managed nodes that share the same Kerberos database. The Kerberos
database resides on the Kerberos master computer system, which should be kept in a physically secure
room. A read-only copy of the Kerberos database might also reside on other Kerberos computer systems.
However, all changes to the database must be made on the master computer system. Changing or
accessing the contents of a Kerberos database requires the Kerberos master password.
 A Kerberos principal is a service or user that is known to the Kerberos system. Each Kerberos principal
is identified by its principal name. Principal names consist of three parts: a service or user name, an
instance name, and a realm name in the following form:
For example, a principal name could describe the authorization role the user has in a particular realm,
such as joe.user@realm1 for a user principal. A principal name can also describe the location of a
service on a computer system, for example, ftp.host1@realm2 for a service principal. The instance part
of the principal name is optional but is useful for identifying the computer system on which a service
resides. Kerberos considers identical services on different computer systems to be different service
principals.
Each principal has a principal password, which Kerberos uses during its authentication process to
authenticate services and users to each other. With Kerberos, a principal on one computer system in a
network can talk to a principal on another computer system in the network with confidence, knowing
that the service or user is what or who it says it is.
For each computer system that is part of the Kerberos realm, the ext_srvtab command creates
the srvtab file in the /etc directory. This file contains information that relates to service or user principals
that have an instance on the computer system. If no service or user principals are on a computer system,
the srvtab file is empty.
When a user logs in as a Kerberos principal, Kerberos assigns the user a ticket. Each ticket has a
lifetime, which determines the length of time for which the ticket is valid. When a ticket expires, the
principal is no longer trusted and is unable to perform additional work until a new ticket has been
acquired.

Creating a Kerberos Realm

Select a computer system to serve as the master of the realm
Ensure that Kerberos commands are in your search path
Create a Kerberos configuration file

Initialize and populate the distribution center key database on the master
Create one or more Tivoli administrators as Kerberos principals
Set up any other computer systems in the realm
Ensure that the Tivoli daemon is configured to use Kerberos authentication

What is CMAC. Define its functionality.

CMAC is a block cipherbased message authentication code algorithm. This means that it can provide the
authentication of the data origin (as in the computer it was sent from) but not the person who sent it.

CMAC Functionality
So here is how CMAC works: the symmetric algorithm (AES or 3DES) creates the symmetric key. This key
is used to create subkeys. The subkeys are used individually to encrypt the individual blocks of a message as
shown in the Figure.

This is the exactly how CBC-MAC works, but with some better magic that works underneath the
hood.

1. Differentiate between private and secret key.

Secret key is used in symmetric cryptography where only one key is needed for encryption and decryption

Private and public key are the two keys that two different entities are using in public key cryptography to
decrypt (using the private) what have been encrypted with the public or reverse.

2. What are main components of Kerberos?

When using the Kerberos protocol , a Key Distribution Center (KDC) is used to store, distribute, and maintain
cryptographic session and secret keys.

Kerberos Software Components

The Athena implementation comprises several modules:

Kerberos applications library
encryption library
database library
database administration programs
administration server
authentication server
db propagation software
user programs

applications
3. What is an asymmetric key algorithm

Symmetric vs. asymmetric algorithms

When using symmetric algorithms, both parties share the same key for en- and decryption. To provide privacy,
this key needs to be kept secret. Once somebody else gets to know the key, it is not safe any more. Symmetric
algorithms have the advantage of not consuming too much computing power. A few well-known examples are:
DES, Triple-DES (3DES), IDEA, CAST5, BLOWFISH, TWOFISH.

Asymmetric algorithms use pairs of keys. One is used for encryption and the other one for decryption. The
decryption key is typically kept secretly, therefore called ``private key'' or ``secret key'', while the encryption
key is spread to all who might want to send encrypted messages, therefore called ``public key''. Everybody
having the public key is able to send encrypted messages to the owner of the secret key. The secret key can't be
reconstructed from the public key. The idea of asymmetric algorithms was first published 1976 by Diffie and
Hellmann.

Strengths & Weaknesses Of Asymmetric Encryption

Strengths
Better key distribution than symmetric systems
Better scalability than symmetric systems
Can provide authentication and nonrepudiation
Weaknesses
Works much more slowly than symmetric systems
Mathematically intensive tasks
4. What are the main component of symmetric encryptions. Describe its limitations.
( unsolved )

Long Questions

1. What are Characteristics Of Strong Stream Ciphers.

Characteristics Of Strong Stream Ciphers
Long periods of no repeating patterns within keystream values
Bits generated by the keystream must be random
Statistically unpredictable keystream
The bits generated from the keystream generator cannot be predicted
A keystream not linearly related to the key
If someone figures out the keystream values, that does not mean she now knows the key value
Statistically unbiased keystream (as many 0s as 1s)
There should be no dominance in the number of 0s or 1s in the keystream
2. What is ECC algorithm.
An elliptic curve cryptosystem (ECC) provides much of the same functionality RSA provides: digital
signatures, secure key distribution, and encryption. One differing factor is ECCs efficiency.
Eliptic Curves
In this field of mathematics,
points on the curves compose
a structure called a group.
Elliptic Curve Cryptosystems
 The Figure is an example of an elliptic curve. In this field of
mathematics, points on the curves compose a structure called a
group. These points are the values used in mathematical formulas
for ECCs encryption and decryption processes.

The algorithm computes discrete logarithms of elliptic curves, which is different from calculating discrete
logarithms in a finite field (which is what Diffie-Hellman and El Gamal use).

Some devices have limited processing capacity, storage, power supply, and bandwidth such as wireless devices
and cellular telephones. With these types of devices, efficiency of resource use is very important.

ECC provides encryption functionality,requiring a smaller percentage of the resources needed by RSA and other
algorithms, so it is used in these types of devices.

In most cases, the longer the key, the more protection that is provided, but ECC can provide the same level of
protection with a key size that is shorter than what RSA requires.

Because longer keys require more resources to perform mathematical tasks, the smaller keys used in ECC
require fewer resources of the device.

1. What is the difference between active attacks and passive attacks.

Solution:

ACTIVE ATTACK:
From the word active, it is clear that it is nothing but direct attack. In this case the attacked one gets aware of
the attack. Suppose, someone installed a logic bomb to your PC & after clicking on it, your PC starts to be
shutdown.

PASSIVE ATTACK
It is indirect attack. The attacked host is completely unaware about this; hence it is called passive attack. Like
as, the attacker is trying to observe the host.

It is very hard to say which one is more harmful between active and passive attack. Sometimes active attack and
sometimes it may be passive attack also

2. Define and discuss various components of PKI infrastructure.

A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a set of roles, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute,
use, store, and revoke digital certificates and manage public-key encryption.

PKI supports the distribution and identification of public encryption keys, enabling users and computers to both
securely exchange data over networks such as the Internet and verify the identity of the other party.

Components:

The basic components of a public key infrastructure include:

Digital certificates
Digital certificates (public key certificates, specifically X.509 certificates) are signed data structures that
bind attributes of an entity with its corresponding public key. The basic requirement for a Digital
Certificate is that it needs to be signed by a certification authority (CA).
Certification authorities.
The Certification Authorities could be people, process and tools that are directly responsible for the
creation of certificate, issue of certificate and the management of public-key certificates that are in use
for a PKI. CAs generates, revokes, publishes and also archives these certificates. The certification
authorities (CA) rely on Certificate Repositories (CRLs) to make and deliver certificates and these CRLs
are readily available to all the certificate users too.
Registration Authority (RA)
Registration Authorities are combination of people, process and the tools that are directly responsible for
authenticating the identity of newer entities (could be users or systems) that require certificates from the
Certification Authorities.
 Certificate Repository
The Certificate Repository is a database which is easily accessible to all the users of the PKI system.
This repository holds the Public Key certificates, the certificate revocation related information and the
governing policy information. The certificates, CRLs in the repository are used in information retrieval
without authentication.

PKI Client Software

PKI client software is required to ensure that the entities of PKI to be capable of making use of the key
and digital certificate management services available in the PKI. Some examples of such services are:
Key creation, automatic updating of key and refreshment.
PKI Enabled Applications
For any software applications to be used within the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), they should be PKI-
enabled. In other words, it simply means that the applications or software should be capable of
understanding and making use of digital certificates
Policy (Certificate Policy & the Certification Practice Statement)
Certificate Policy & Certificate Practice Statements are basically policy documents, structured operating
documents that define the practices and procedures to use, administration & management of certificates
in a PKI.

Q: - In context of hashing what is meant by compression.

This function used for message integrity and the generated hashed number must be the same when the recipient
receives the message and run the same with hash function,

if the resultant hashed number / message digest would be the same, the received message would not be altered.

3. What is X509 standard?

The standard for how the CA creates the certificate is X.509, which dictates the different fields used in the
certificate and the valid values that can populate those fields. The most commonly used version is 3 of this
standard, which is often denoted as X.509v3. Many cryptographic protocols use this type of certificate,
including SSL.

PKI is an ISO authentication framework that uses public key cryptography and the X.509 standard.

The framework was set up to enable authentication to happen across different networks and the Internet.

Particular protocols and algorithms are not specified, which is why PKI is called a framework and not a specific
technology.

4. What are one way functions? How they are implemented in cryptography?

A one-way function is a mathematical function that is easier to compute in one direction than in the opposite
direction. CA constructs the certificate, signs it,tQ: Characteristics Of Strong Stream Ciphers

Long periods of no repeating patterns within key stream values. Bits generated by the key stream must be
random

Statistically unpredictable key stream The bits generated from the key stream generator cannot be predicted

A key stream not linearly related to the key If someone figures out the key stream values, that does not mean
she now knows the key value

Statistically unbiased key stream (as many 0s as 1s). There should be no dominance in the number of 0s or
1s in the key stream

Q: public key cryptography uses

1- Public-key encryption
2- Digital signatures
3- Secure key exchange:

Q: Define and describe the fields of digital certificate

Version Identifies the version of the
certificate

Serial Number Unique number for the

certificate

Signature Algorithm ID used to Sign the

Certificate

Issuer Name of Certificate Issuer

Validity Validity dates

Subject Name of Owner

Subject Public Public Key Of Owner

Key info

Issuer Unique ID ID of Issuing CA

Subject Unique ID ID of Subject

Extensions Optional Extensions

q.1 whar r the charcterstics of stream cipher

A stream cipher treats the message as a stream of bits and performs mathematical functions on each bit
individually. When using a stream cipher, a plaintext bit will be transformed into a different cipher text bit each
time it is encrypted. Stream ciphers use key stream generators, which produce a stream of bits that is XORed
with the plaintext bits to produce ciphertext
q. Message Authentication Codes (MACs)
A MAC function is an authentication scheme derived by applying a secret key to a message in some form. This
does not mean the symmetric key is used to encrypt the message, though.

q4. define and describe the fields of digital certificate. 10 marks

Digital certificates (public key certificates, specifically X.509 certificates) are signed data structures that bind
attributes of an entity with its corresponding public key. The basic requirement for a Digital Certificate is that it
needs to be signed by a certification authority (CA).

11. what CMAC? How it works

Cipher-Based Message Authentication Code (CMAC) provides the same type of data origin authentication and
integrity as CBC-MAC, but is more secure mathematically.
CMAC is a variation of CBC-MAC. It is approved to work with AES and Triple DES.
So here is how CMAC works: the symmetric algorithm (AES or 3DES) creates the symmetric key. This key is
used to create subkeys. The subkeys are used individually to encrypt the individual blocks of a message
q 2. CBC-MAcdrescibe its properties.
If a CBC-MAC is being used, the message is encrypted with a symmetric block cipher in CBC mode, and the
output of the final block of ciphertext is used as the MAC.

What Is the Difference Between Public Key Cryptography and Public Key Infrastructure?
Public key cryptography is the use of an asymmetric algorithm. Thus, the terms asymmetric algorithm and
public key cryptography are interchangeable and mean the same thing. Examples of asymmetric algorithms are
RSA, elliptic curve cryptosystem (ECC), Diffie-Hellman, El Gamal, LUC, and Knapsack.

Public key infrastructure (PKI) is different. It is not an algorithm, a protocol, or an applicationit is an

infrastructure based on public key cryptography.
Q. Chain certificates
Also known as certificate authority (CA) is a trusted entity that issues electronic documents that verify a digital
entitys identity on the Internet. The electronic documents, which are called digital certificates, are an essential
part of secure communication and play an important part in the public key infrastructure (PKI). Certificates
typically include the owner's public key, the expiration date of the certificate, the owner's name and other
information about the public key owner. Operating systems (OSes) and browsers maintain lists of trusted CA
root certificates to verify certificates that a CA has issued and signed.

2.eleborate the term digital signature?5 marks

A digital signature (not to be confused with a digital certificate) is a mathematical technique used to validate the
authenticity and integrity of a message, software or digital document.
To create a digital signature, signing software (such as an email program) creates a one-way hash of the
electronic data to be signed. The private key is then used to encrypt the hash. The encrypted hash -- along with
other information, such as the hashing algorithm -- is the digital signature.

What is a digital certificate?

Digital Certificates are a means by which consumers and businesses can utilize the security applications of
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). PKI comprises of the technology to enables secure e-commerce and Internet
based communication.

1. What security measures are adopted in the layers of OSI model.

The OSI reference model for networking (ISO 7498-1) is designed around seven layers arranged in a stack. The OSI
security architecture reference model (ISO 7498-2) is also designed around seven layers, reflecting a high level view of
the different requirements within network security.
Layers (ISO 7498-1) ISO 7498-2 Security Model
Application Authentication
Presentation Access Control
Session Non-Repudiation
Transport Data Integrity
Network Confidentiality
Data Link Assurance / Availability
Physical Notarization / Signature
Q: - In context of hashing what is meant by compression.

This function used for message integrity and the generated hashed number must be the same when the recipient
receives the message and run the same with hash function,

if the resultant hashed number / message digest would be the same, the received message would not be altered.

3. What is X509 standard?

The standard for how the CA creates the certificate is X.509, which dictates the different fields used in the certificate and
the valid values that can populate those fields. The most commonly used version is 3 of this standard, which is often
denoted as X.509v3. Many cryptographic protocols use this type of certificate, including SSL.
PKI is an ISO authentication framework that uses public key cryptography and the X.509 standard.
The framework was set up to enable authentication to happen across different networks and the Internet.
Particular protocols and algorithms are not specified, which is why PKI is called a framework and not a specific
technology.

4. What are one way functions? How they are implemented in cryptography?

A one-way function is a mathematical function that is easier to compute in one direction than in the opposite direction.
An analogy of this is when you drop a glass on the floor. Although dropping a glass on the floor is easy, putting all the
pieces back together again to reconstruct the original glass is next to impossible. This concept is similar to how a one-
way function is used in cryptography, which is what the RSA algorithm, and all other asymmetric algorithms, is based
upon. The easy direction of computation in the one-way function that is used in the RSA algorithm is the process of
multiplying two large prime numbers. Multiplying the two numbers to get the resulting product is much easier than
factoring the product and recovering the two initial large prime numbers used to calculate the obtained product, which
is the difficult direction. RSA is based on the difficulty of factoring large numbers that are the product of two large prime
numbers. Attacks on these types of cryptosystems do not necessarily try every possible key value, but rather try to factor
the large number, which will give the attacker the private key.

When a user encrypts a message with a public key, this message is encoded with a one-way function (breaking a glass).
This function supplies a trapdoor (knowledge of how to put the glass back together), but the only way the trapdoor can
be taken advantage of is if it is known about and the correct code is applied. The private key provides this service. The
private key knows about the trapdoor, knows how to derive the original prime numbers, and has the necessary
programming code to take advantage of this secret trapdoor to unlock the encoded message (reassembling the broken
glass). Knowing about the trapdoor and having the correct functionality to take advantage of it are what make the
private key private.

When a one-way function is carried out in the easy direction, encryption and digital signature verification functionality
are available. When the one-way function is carried out in the hard direction, decryption and signature generation
functionality are available. This means only the public key can carry out encryption and signature verification and only
the private key can carry out decryption and signature generation.

As explained earlier in this chapter, work factor is the amount of time and resources it would take for someone to break
an encryption method. In asymmetric algorithms, the work factor relates to the difference in time and effort that
carrying out a one-way function in the easy direction takes compared to carrying out a one-way function in the hard
direction. In most cases, the larger the key size, the longer it would take for the bad guy to carry out the one-way
function in the hard direction (decrypt a message).

2. Define and discuss various components of PKI infrastructure.

A PKI may be made up of the following entities and functions:

CA RA Certificate repository

Certificate revocation system Key backup and recovery system

Automatic key update Management of key histories

Timestamping Client-side software

Q: Characteristics Of Strong Stream Ciphers

Long periods of no repeating patterns within keystream values.Bits generated by the keystream must be random

Statistically unpredictable keystream The bits generated from the keystream generator cannot be predicted

A keystream not linearly related to the key If someone figures out the keystream values, that does not mean she now
knows the key value

Statistically unbiased keystream (as many 0s as 1s). There should be no dominance in the number of 0s or 1s in the
keystream

Q: public key cryptography

1- Public-key encryption
2- Digital signatures
3- Secure key exchange:

Define and describe the fields of digital certificate

Version Identifies the version of the
certificate
Serial Number Unique number for the certificate
Signature Algorithm ID used to Sign the
Certificate
Issuer Name of Certificate Issuer
Validity Validity dates
Subject Name of Owner
Subject Public Key Public Key Of Owner
info
Issuer Unique ID ID of Issuing CA
Subject Unique ID ID of Subject
Extensions Optional Extensions

Q.What are the categories of security services? Briefly explain them . 5 marks
Solution:
PKI supplies the following security services:
Confidentiality Access control Integrity Authentication
Nonrepudiation
A PKI must retain a key history, which keeps track of all the old and current public keys that have been used by
individual users. For example, if Kevin encrypted a symmetric key with Daves old public key, there should be
a way for Dave to still access this data. This can only happen if the CA keeps a proper history of Daves old
certificates and keys.
Q22 Briefly describe the features of the Advanced Encryption Algorithm (Rijndael). [5]

The block sizes that Rijndael supports are 128, 192, and 256 bits. The number of rounds depends upon the size of the
block and the key length:
If both the key and block size are 128 bits, there are 10 rounds
If both the key and block size are 192 bits, there are 12 rounds
If both the key and block size are 256 bits, there are 14 rounds
Rijndael works well when implemented in software and hardware in a wide range of products and environments. It has
low memory requirements and has been constructed to easily defend against timing attacks.
Rijndael was NIST's choice to replace DES. It is now the algorithm required to protect sensitive but unclassified
government information.

Q24 List and briefly describe the fields that are part of a digital certificate. [10]
Version number: Version number of the X.509 standard. Most certificates follow
Version 3. Different versions have different fields.
Issuer: Name of the certificate authority (CA).
Serial Number: Unique serial number for the certificate, set by the CA.
Subject :The name of the person, organization, computer, or program to which the certificate has been issued. This is the
true party.
Public Key: The public key of the subject (the true party).
Public Key Algorithm: The algorithm the subject uses to sign messages with digital signatures
Valid Period:. The period before which and after which the certificate should not be used. Note: Certificate may be
revoked before the end of this period.
Digital Signature: The digital signature of the certificate, signed by the CA with the CAs own private key. For testing
certificate authentication and integrity. User must know the CAs public key independently.
Signature Algorithm Identifier: The digital signature algorithm the CA uses to sign its certificates.
Other Fields:

Q:25 If you are supposed to implement one-time pad encryption scheme, which requirements do you think, each
pad fulfill so that it is unbreakable?

A one-time pad is a perfect encryption scheme because it is considered unbreakable if implemented properly .
For a one-time pad encryption scheme to be considered unbreakable, each pad in the
scheme must be:
Made up of truly random values
Used only one time
Securely distributed to its destination
Secured at sender's and receiver's sites
At least as long as the message

Q:26 Differentiate between public key cryptography and public key infrastructure.

These algorithms are used to create public/private key pairs, perform key exchange or agreement, and generate and verify
digital signatures. Note that public key cryptography can only perform key agreement and cannot generate or verify
digital signatures.
Public key infrastructure (PKI) is different. It is not an algorithm, a protocol, or an application. It is an infrastructure based
on public key cryptography.

Q:27 What are the two basic functions used in encryption algorithms?

All the encryption Algorithms are based on two general Principles:

Substitution:
In which each element in the plaintext (bit, letter , group, of bits or letters is mapped into another element.
Transposition:
In which elements in the plaintext are arranges. The fundamentals requirements is that no information be lost (that is, that
all operations are reversible). Most system referred to as product systems, involve multiple stages of substitution and
transposition.

Q23 Differentiate between Kerberos version 4 and version 5. [5]

 Kerberos Version Kerberos Version 5
4

Chronology Kerberos v4 was The version 5 was

released prior to the published in 1993, years
version 5 in the late after the appearance of
1980s. version 5.

Key salt Uses the principal Uses the entire principal

algorithm name partially. name.

Encoding Uses the receiver- Uses the ASN.1 coding

makes-right system.
encoding system.

Ticket support Satisfactory Well extended.

Facilitates forwarding,
renewing and postdating
tickets.

Transitive No present support Reasonable support

cross-realm for the cause. present for such
authentication authentication.
support

Q: How AES encryption works

AES comprises three block ciphers, AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256. Each cipher encrypts and decrypts data
in blocks of 128 bits using cryptographic keys of 128-, 192- and 256-bits, respectively. (Rijndael was designed
to handle additional block sizes and key lengths, but the functionality was not adopted in AES.) Symmetric or
secret-key ciphers use the same key for encrypting and decrypting, so both the sender and the receiver must
know and use the same secret key. All key lengths are deemed sufficient to protect classified information up to
the "Secret" level with "Top Secret" information requiring either 192- or 256-bit key lengths. There are 10
rounds for 128-bit keys, 12 rounds for 192-bit keys, and 14 rounds for 256-bit keys -- a round consists of
several processing steps that include substitution, transposition and mixing of the input plaintext and transform
it into the final output of ciphertext.

1.you are appointed as a network security personnel in an organisation, if u are using the symmetric key
encryption , what will be yours arguments in favour and against the use of this algorithm?5 marks
Solution:

14. Consider A 32-bit has function implemented as two 16-bit functions using XOR and RXOR. Is created
checksum by concatenation the both detects all the odd parity errors? Explain. If these functions are used
for authentication what will be the effectiveness of the authentication.
 Consider a 32-bit hash function defined as the concatenation of two 16-bit functions: XOR and RXOR, which are defined
in Section 3.2 as two simple hash functions.

a. Will this checksum detect all errors caused by an odd number of error bits? Explain.
b. Will this checksum detect all errors caused by an even number of error bits? If not, characterize the error patterns that
will cause the checksum to fail.
c. Comment on the effectiveness of this function for use as a hash function for authentication.

Solution:
a. Yes. The XOR function is simply a vertical parity check. If there is an odd number of errors, then there must be
at least one column that contains an odd number of errors, and the parity bit for that column will detect the
error.
Note that the RXOR function also catches all errors caused by an odd number of error bits. Each RXOR bit is a
function of a unique spiral of bits in the block of data. If there is an odd number of errors, then there must be
at least one spiral that contains an odd number of errors, and the parity bit for that spiral will detect the error.
b. No. The checksum will fail to detect an even number of errors when both the XOR and RXOR functions fail. In
order for both to fail, the pattern of error bits must be at intersection points between parity spirals and parity
columns such that there is an even number of error bits in each parity column and even number of error bits in
each spiral.
c. It is too simple to be used as a secure hash function; finding multiple message with the same hash function
would be too easy.