Cryptography Fundamentals Flashcards
7 cards from real Certified Ethical Hacker practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Cryptography Fundamentals flashcards as text
Which hashing algorithm is considered broken and should not be used for security purposes?
Answer: MD5
MD5 is vulnerable to collision attacks and is no longer considered secure.
What technique adds random data to a password before hashing to defend against rainbow tables?
Answer: Salting
Salting adds unique random data to each password so identical passwords hash differently.
Which cipher mode requires an initialization vector (IV) to randomize the first block?
Answer: CBC
CBC mode uses an IV to ensure identical plaintext blocks encrypt differently.
Why is ECB mode generally discouraged for encrypting large amounts of data?
Answer: Identical plaintext blocks produce identical ciphertext
ECB encrypts each block independently, revealing patterns in the plaintext.
What is the primary purpose of a Certificate Authority (CA) in a PKI?
Answer: Issue and verify digital certificates
A CA issues digital certificates that bind public keys to verified identities.
Which attack attempts every possible key until the correct one is found?
Answer: Brute-force attack
A brute-force attack systematically tries all possible keys or passwords.
What does the 'integrity' goal of cryptography ensure?
Answer: Data has not been altered
Integrity ensures that data has not been modified in transit or storage.