Question 1

What is the key difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption?

Accepted Answer

Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encryption and decryption, while asymmetric encryption uses a mathematically related key pair: a public key to encrypt and a private key to decrypt.

Question 2

What is the primary disadvantage of symmetric encryption compared to asymmetric encryption?

Accepted Answer

Symmetric encryption requires a secure method to exchange the shared secret key between parties beforehand, creating a key distribution problem.

Question 3

What encryption mode turns a block cipher into a stream cipher by encrypting successive counter values?

Accepted Answer

Counter (CTR) mode converts a block cipher into a stream cipher by encrypting an incrementing counter value and XORing the result with plaintext.

Question 4

Why is Electronic Codebook (ECB) mode considered weak for encrypting data?

Accepted Answer

ECB encrypts identical plaintext blocks into identical ciphertext blocks, revealing patterns in the data and making it vulnerable to pattern analysis attacks.

Question 5

What is the purpose of an Initialization Vector (IV) in encryption?

Accepted Answer

An IV is a random or pseudo-random value used to ensure that identical plaintext blocks produce different ciphertext, preventing pattern detection across encrypted messages.

Cryptography Basics – CompTIA Security+

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