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CIE IGCSE Computer Science Your notes

2.3 Encryption
Contents
Encryption

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Encryption
Your notes
Encryption
Many threats exist to system and network security. Examples include:
Malware
Viruses
Spyware
Hackers
Denial of service attacks
Social engineering
SQL injection
Hackers are people who try to gain unlawful or unauthorised access to computers, networks and data
by writing programs
They look for weaknesses in the system and use them to gain access
Hackers have various motives such as financial gain, a challenge or protests etc
Hackers sometimes target data in order to steal and use it, or block people from using the data by
creating programs called ransomware
Hackers may also used packet sniffer to intercept and read data transmitted across the internet or a
network
Hackers will often want to use people’s information and therefore it is beneficial to encrypt your data

What is encryption?
Encryption involves encoding data into a form that is meaningless using an algorithm
An example could be turning the phrase “Computer Science” into
“YekLKEZizFuFjHNCjHj3Md7qyTiGxLNNwPVFZtJU74I=”
Once encrypted, data can be decrypted which turns the encrypted data into data that can be
understood again
Encryption doesn’t prevent hackers from hacking but makes the data hard if not impossible to
understand unless they have matching decryption tools
There are two types of encryption: symmetric encryption and asymmetric encryption

Exam Tip
Encryption doesn't stop the data from being stolen. It just makes it very difficult for hackers to
understand the data

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Symmetric and asymmetric encryption

Encryption relies on the use of a key. A key is a binary string of a certain length that when applied to an Your notes
encryption algorithm can encrypt plaintext information and decrypt ciphertext
Plaintext is the name for data before it is encrypted
Ciphertext is the name for data after it is encrypted
Keys can vary in size and act like passwords, enabling people to protect information. A single
incorrect digit in the key means the data cannot be decrypted correctly. Strong modern keys can be
up to or over 1000 bits long!

Symmetric encryption
In symmetric encryption both parties are given an identical secret key which can be used to encrypt or
decrypt information
Key distribution problem: If a hacker gains access to the key then they can decrypt intercepted
information
Methods exist to send the secret key to the receiver without sending it electronically:
Both parties could verbally share the key in person
Both parties may use standard postage mail to share the key (some businesses and banks may do
this to ensure someone's identity and authenticity)
An algorithm may be used to calculate the key by sharing secret non-key information. An example
is shown below
Symmetric Encryption Walkthrough
Both parties A and B choose a number, for example A = 3, B = 2
Both parties enter their own respective numbers into the following equations: 7^A MOD 11 or
7^B MOD 11. ^ is another way of writing “to the power of”
7^3 MOD 11 = 2, 7^2 MOD 11 = 5
Both parties swap their respective answers. A receives 5 and B receives 2. These answers
replace the initial 7 number and the calculations are performed again
Both parties enter their new number into the following equations: 5^3 MOD 11 or 2^2 MOD 11
5^3 MOD 11 = 4, 2^2 MOD 11 = 4
The answer should match for both parties and this becomes the encryption and decryption
key value
Once the key is generated, it can be applied to the plaintext in the algorithm that then produces the
ciphertext which is sent to the receiver
The receiver gets a copy of the ciphertext and the key and applies the encryption algorithm. The
algorithm then produces the original plaintext for the receiver

Asymmetric encryption
In asymmetric encryption also known as public key encryption, two keys are used:

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Public key: a key known to everyone

Private key: a key known only to the receiver
Both keys are needed to encrypt and decrypt information Your notes
Asymmetric encryption works as follows:
Person A uses a public key to encrypt their message
Person A sends their message over the network or internet
Person B decrypts the message using their secret private key
Asymmetric encryption works such that only one private key can be used to decrypt the message and
it is not sent over the internet like a symmetric key
Keys can be very large, for example over 1000 bits. To get the correct key a hacker would have to
calculate almost every possible combination. To illustrate, a key with only 100 bits would generate
1,267,650,600,228,229,401,496,703,205,376 different combinations

How are encryption keys created?

Encryption keys can be created manually, randomly or via an algorithm
Strong encryption keys are created using a hashing algorithm
A hashing algorithm is a non-reversible mathematical algorithm that converts a given input into an
output. Once the output has been generated it is unable to be converted back to the original input
Encryption keys are created by supplying a message or key to the hashing algorithm which turns it
into a string of characters usually shown in hexadecimal
SHA-2 is an example of a hashing algorithm that creates hashed keys of 244, 256, 384 or 512 bit length
If the text string “Computer Science” is run through the SHA-2 algorithm, it would return a 512 bit
key in hexadecimal as:
“B6e175f5fc647b1a9ce17019594ce55b58e8fd03e3c584ee384121c8b4c7753d”
The hashed encryption key can then be sent symmetrically or kept secret as part of an asymmetric
private key. Both sender and receiver need a copy of the key to decrypt information regardless of
using symmetric or asymmetric encryption

Why use hashed encryption keys?

In symmetric encryption, the key must be sent with the message to the receiver. If a hacker intercepts
the key they can read the message
In asymmetric encryption, the public key is available to everyone and would not be useful to a hacker.
The hacker must guess the private key in order to read the message
Hashing algorithms are many-to-one. This means that many input values, messages or keys can
produce the same hash key output
A hashed encryption key means the hacker must first unhash the key before it is useful
As hashing algorithms are non-reversible this is extremely difficult
With SHA-2 for example, a hacker who wants to find the symmetric or asymmetric private key must
calculate over 1.3x10^154 combinations; that is 13 with 153 0’s after it. With the computing power
available today, this is virtually if not actually impossible

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Worked example
Complete the sentences about symmetric encryption. Use the terms from the list. Some of the terms
Your notes
in the list will not be used. You should only use a term once.

algorithm cipher copied delete key plain

private public standard stolen understood unreadable

The data before encryption is known as ______ text. To scramble the data, an encryption ______,
which is a type of ______, is used. The data after encryption is known as ______ text. Encryption
prevents the data from being ______ by a hacker.
[5]
One mark for each correct term in the correct place in the following order:
plain [1]
algorithm/key [1]
key/algorithm [1]
cipher [1]
Understood [1]

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