Principals of Database Management
Introduction
The process of encryption involves the conversion of plaintext into an encoded form so that only authorized recipients can access it. Encryption is one of the reliable data methods of data security that has been in use for a long time. Due to the increasing amount of information being processed, stored, and transferred between computers, the need to guarantee the security of such information continues to grow as well. Systems prioritize data security because the cost associated with data loss is often enormous and sometimes can be unrecoverable. Threats to data have equally grown to insurmountable levels. Lack of proper security approach and roll out validates the impacts of attack attempts such as snooping, social engineering, phishing, tampering, among others, and make them become immediate problems system custodians. Limiting the scope to data transmission and storage, information security has had to adapt to dynamic approaches to keep up with challenges brought about by attackers. The fast progression of data exchange through digital means is to blame for such developments. Encryption has played a big role in ensuring data storage and transmission processes are free from security challenges. There are different types of encryption algorithms that are used in data transmission and also to carry out authentication processes. This paper endeavors to survey various Encryption Algorithms that are relevant to data transmission and authentication processes.
RSA Encryption Algorithm
The RSA is a cryptographic algorithm of asymmetric nature. Asymmetric in this context refers to the fact that the algorithm can work with both the Private Key and Public Key, where the former is a key that is confidentially held, and the latter is shared with everyone (Singh, 2013). To better create an understanding on this, we use an example that describes a client (can be a browsing individual) sending a public key to the server to request for specific data. Since the server is programmed in such a way that it has encryption ability, it encrypts the data requested by the client using the public key the request came with. The client, on his part, acknowledges receipt of the data and then proceeds to decrypt it. Because the whole process is asymmetric, it is only the browser that possesses the ability to decrypt the data even if there is a third party in the transmission environment that is also in possession of the browser’s public key.
The principle of the RSA Algorithm is premised on the fact that it is difficult to factorize a large integer. The public key comprises two numbers, one of which is a product of two other large prime number numbers. The private key, on the other hand, is a derivation of the two prime numbers. In the event that an individual manages to factorize the large number, the private key becomes compromised (Shen & Zhou, 2017). The strength of the encryption process is fully dependent on the size of the key. Actions such as doubling or tripling the size of the key exponentially increase the strength of the encryption.
DES Algorithm
Data Encryption Standard (DES) is described as a block cipher algorithm since it organizes plain into 64-bit blocks then converts them into ciphertext through the use of 48 bits. DES is also a symmetric key algorithm. The symmetric key algorithm refers to algorithms that use the same key to carry out encryption and decryption of data. There are three main stages of the DES algorithm. They include key generation, encryption, and decryption process.
Key Generation
The generation of a key in DES involves 16 rounds of encryption in the algorithm. For each round, a different key is utilized. The key generation process is embedded in the labeling of bits from 1 to 64, starting with the most significant ones and concluding with the least significant ones. The initial step involves compressing and transposing the 64-bit key into a 48-bit key with the help of a PC-1 table. Next is a division of the results into two parts of similar sizes; for instance, C and D. In the third step, the parts C and D are shifted to the left in a circular manner (Mushtaq et al., 2017). The rounds 1, 2, 9, and 16 are circularly shifted using 1 bit while the rest of the rounds are circularly shifted using 2 bits. The result is then compressed through the use of a specified rule into 48 bits. The result of the circular shifting using 1 and 2 bits becomes the input for the next steps of key generation.
The Encryption Steps
The encryption steps involve transposing the bits in the 64-bit block using a specified permutation table. The next step is all about the division of the result into left plain text (1-32 bits) and right plain text (33-64 bits), which are of equal parts. The parts then are subjected to 16 rounds of encryptions rounds for the attainment of required results.
Decryption Steps
The 16 48-bit keys order is reversed such that key 16 becomes key 1, and so on. Then, the encryption steps are carried out on the ciphertext.
References
Mushtaq, M. F., Jamel, S., Disina, A. H., Pindar, Z. A., Shakir, N. S. A., & Deris, M. M. (2017). A survey on the cryptographic encryption algorithms. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 8(11), 333-344.
Shen, Y., & Zhou, H. (2017, May). Double dip: Re-evaluating security of logic encryption algorithms. In Proceedings of the on Great Lakes Symposium on VLSI 2017 (pp. 179-184).
Singh, G. (2013). A study of encryption algorithms (RSA, DES, 3DES and AES) for information security. International Journal of Computer Applications, 67(19).