CRYPTOGRAPHY

Cryptographic Basics
Obfuscation is to take something that looks like it makes sense, and to hide it so that it does
not make sense to the casual outside observer.
 Diffusion
 Confusion
 Substitution
Cryptanalysis is breaking these encrypted codes.
Vigenere cipher

Exclusive or XOR

Hashing (Message Digest)

1. Message Digest 5(MD5)
128 bit, Collision prone, not used anymore
2. Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA -1)
160 bit, Collision prone, not used
3. SHA 2 SHA 256, SHA 512
4. RIPEMD (Race Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest)
Open standard, 128, 160, 256, 320 bit

Cryptographic Attacks
 Attack the algorithm
AES difficult to crack
 Attack the implementation
WEP – not used anymore, easier to attack, uses RC4
 Attack the key

Password Cracking
Brute force attack

Dictionary attack

Rainbow table

Salting (Defeats rainbow table but not Brute force attack)

Key Stretching

Network Authentication:

 PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) – Outdated – Not used anymore

 Microsoft Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (MS – CHAPv2)
 Microsoft New Technology LAN Manager (NTLM)
o Password hashes are not salted in NTLM
o NTLMv2 passwords are salted
o NTLMv2 is used in windows work group environment.
 Kerberos
o Used in active directory environment.
 o Has various components- Kerberos Key Distribution Centre (KDC), Authentication
Service (AS), Ticket-granting service (TGS), Ticket-Granting Ticket (TGT).
 Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)
o Eg. PKI certificate authentication, Smart card authentication
o Uses transport layer security (TLS) transport WiFi
 IEEE 802.1x IEEE802.11
o Port based network access control
o Centralised RADIUS server authentication
o Remote Access Dial In User Service (RADIUS)
 Centralised authentication
 Radius client (networks edge point device – switch, router etc)
 Radius supplicant (- user trying to connect to network)

Radius variations – TACACS, TACACA+