The other three choices are incorrect because they do not use block ciphers. Codebook attacks are a type of attack where the intruder attempts to create a codebook of all possible transformations between plaintext and ciphertext under a single key. Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks are a type of attack that takes advantage of the store-and-forward mechanism used by insecure networks, such as the Internet. MitM attacks are also called bucket brigade attacks.
196. Which of the following statements about digital signatures is
a. It enhances authentication.
b. It makes repudiation by the sender possible.
c. It prevents nonrepudiation by the receiver.
d. It makes repudiation by the sender impossible.
197. Which of the following statements is true? Rivest, Shamir, and Adelman (RSA) algorithm has a:
a. Slower signature generation and slower verification than DSA
b. Slower signature generation and faster verification than DSA
c. Faster signature generation and faster verification than DSA
d. Faster signature generation and slower verification than DSA
RSA is much slower to compute than popular secret key algorithms like data encryption standard (DES) and international data encryption algorithm (IDEA). RSA algorithm uses a variable length public key—a long key for enhanced security or a short key for efficiency.
RSA encryption algorithm requires greater computing power (i.e., memory or disk storage space) necessary to generate keys. The keys for RSA algorithm are large numbers generated mathematically by combining prime numbers. The algorithm is powerful and has resisted all attempts to break it to date, except for 40-bit RSA.
198. Cryptography provides all the following services
a. Authentication
b. Confidentiality
c. Integrity
d. Availability
To protect a message, an originator transforms a plain text message into ciphertext. This process is called encryption or encipherment. The ciphertext is transmitted over the data communications channel. If the message is intercepted, the intruder has access to only the unintelligible ciphertext. Upon receipt, the message recipient transforms the ciphertext into its original plain text format. This process is called decryption or decipherment.
The mathematical operations used to map between plain text and ciphertext are identified by cryptographic algorithms. Cryptographic algorithms require the text to be mapped and, at a minimum, require some value that controls the mapping process. This value is called a key. Given the same text and the same algorithm, different keys produce different mappings.