MODULE 5 QUESTIONS
Information Security, Hashes & Digital Signatures
Ciphers & Symmetric Encryption
1. An Affine cipher uses the encryption function E(x) = (ax + b) mod 26 . An attacker
intercepts communications and discovers that the plaintext character 'A' (numerical value 0)
encrypts to 'H' (7), and the character 'B' (1) encrypts to 'M' (12). Calculate the numerical keys
a and b , and then mathematically decrypt the ciphertext character 'R' (17) to find its original
plaintext value.
2. A symmetric block cipher uses Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode with a block size of 8 bits.
The Initialization Vector (IV) is 10101010 . The plaintext consists of two blocks: P1 =
11001100 and P2 = 00110011 . The encryption algorithm itself is a simple XOR operation
with a static key K = 01010101 . Calculate the exact binary values of the ciphertext blocks
C1 and C2 .
Mathematics of Cryptography
1. Alice and Bob establish a shared secret using the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol. They
agree on a prime modulus p = 23 and a primitive root generator g = 5 . Alice chooses her
secret integer a = 6 , and Bob chooses his secret integer b = 15 . Calculate Alice's public
key A , Bob's public key B , and the final numeric shared secret key K .
2. Consider an Elliptic Curve defined by the equation y2 ≡ x3 + x + 6 (mod 11) . Given a
point P = (2, 7) that lies on this curve, calculate the coordinates of the point 2P (i.e.,
P + P ) using elliptic curve point doubling arithmetic over the finite field GF(11).
Hash Functions & Data Integrity
1. A highly simplified hash function processes data in 8-bit blocks by applying a continuous XOR
operation across all blocks. If a message consists of the three blocks M1 = 11001010 ,
M2 = 01011100 , and M3 = 10101010 , calculate the final 8-bit hash digest. Then,
demonstrate how a single-bit flip in M1 affects the final digest.
2. A new cryptographic hash function generates a digest of exactly 64 bits. According to the
Generalized Birthday Paradox, approximately how many random messages must an attacker
hash to have a 50% probability of finding a collision? Express your final answer as a power of
2, and estimate the magnitude of this number.
3. A system uses Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code (CBC-MAC) for data
integrity. The underlying block cipher operates on 4-bit blocks using the simple function
EK(x) = (x + 3) mod 16 . Assuming an Initialization Vector of 0, calculate the 4-bit MAC
tag for the 2-block message where M1 = 5 and M2 = 12 .
Digital Signatures
1. Bob utilizes the RSA algorithm to generate digital signatures. His public key is
(e = 13, n = 77) . If Bob wants to digitally sign a message that hashes to the digest M =
5 , calculate his private exponent d , and then compute the numerical value of the digital
signature S .
2. In the ElGamal Digital Signature scheme, a user has a public prime p = 19 , a generator g
= 2 , and a private key x = 4 . To sign a message m = 14 , the user selects a random
integer k = 5 . Calculate the digital signature pair (r, s) . (Hint: You will need to find the
modular inverse of k modulo p-1 ).
3. A client receives an RSA-signed document from a server. The attached signature is S = 20 .
The server's public key parameters are (e = 7, n = 33) . The client independently
hashes the downloaded document and obtains a digest of H(m) = 14 . Perform the
cryptographic verification step mathematically and state whether the signature is valid or
forged.