Cryptography and Network Security

Module 1.

Chapter 1 : A Model for Network Security

1.1 Why Network Security is needed

Modern networks carry sensitive data (credentials, financial records, academic

data). Threats include:

 Eavesdropping (sniffing packets)

 Tampering (altering data in transit)
 Impersonation (spoofing sender/receiver)
 Replay (reusing captured messages)
 Denial of Service (service disruption)

1.2 Security Goals (CIA+)

 Confidentiality: Only authorized users read data

 Integrity: Data is not altered undetected
 Authentication: Verify identities
 Non-repudiation: Sender cannot deny sending
 Availability: Services remain accessible

Network Security Model

Sender → [Encryption E with Key K] → Ciphertext → Insecure Network →

[Decryption D with Key K] → Receiver

Explanation:

 The sender encrypts plaintext using algorithm E and key K.

 Ciphertext travels over an insecure network.
  The receiver decrypts using D and the same key K (symmetric model).
 An adversary may attempt interception, modification, or impersonation.

Mathematical view:

 C = E(K, P)
 P = D(K, C)

1.4 Types of Attacks

 Passive attacks: Eavesdropping, traffic analysis (no data change)

 Active attacks: Modification, masquerade, replay, DoS
 Cryptanalysis: Exploiting algorithm weaknesses
 Brute force: Trying all possible keys

Introduction to Classical Encryption Techniques

Classical encryption techniques are early cryptographic methods developed
before modern computers.
They are mainly based on:

 Substitution (replace letters/symbols)

 Transposition (rearrange positions)

All classical techniques discussed here follow the Symmetric Cipher Model,
where the same secret key is used for encryption and decryption.

2. Symmetric Cipher Model (Secret-Key Cryptography)

2.1 Definition

In the symmetric cipher model, the same key (K) is used by both sender and
receiver to encrypt and decrypt the message.
Basic Diagram

Mathematical Representation

 Encryption:

C=E(K,P)C = E(K, P)C=E(K,P)

 Decryption:

P=D(K,C)P = D(K, C)P=D(K,C)

Where:

 P = Plaintext
 C = Ciphertext
 E = Encryption algorithm
 D = Decryption algorithm
 K = Secret key

Components of the Symmetric Cipher Model

(a) Plaintext (P)

 Original readable message

 Example: HELLO WORLD
(b) Encryption Algorithm (E)

 Converts plaintext into ciphertext

 Example: Caesar cipher shifts letters

(c) Secret Key (K)

 Controls transformation
 Must be kept secret
 Security depends more on key secrecy than algorithm secrecy
(Kerckhoffs’s principle)

(d) Ciphertext (C)

 Encrypted, unreadable message

 Example: KHOOR ZRUOG

(e) Decryption Algorithm (D)

 Reverses encryption using the same key

Key Distribution Problem (Major Challenge)

Diagram: Key Distribution Issue

Sender ----(How to send key securely?)----> Receiver
(If key is intercepted → system breaks)

Problem:
Before communication, sender and receiver must share the secret key
securely.
If an attacker gets the key, all security is lost.

This is the main limitation of symmetric cryptography.

Types of Symmetric Ciphers (Conceptual View)

(a) Substitution Ciphers

Replace symbols/letters with others

Examples: Caesar, Monoalphabetic, Playfair, Hill

(b) Transposition Ciphers

Rearrange positions of symbols

Example: Rail Fence Cipher
(c) Product Ciphers

Combination of substitution + transposition

(Concept later used in DES, AES)

Attacks on Symmetric Cipher Model

Diagram: Attacker Model

Plaintext ----> Encryption ----> Ciphertext ----> Decryption ----> Plaintext

↑ ↑

Key Guess Interception

Types of Attacks:

Attack Type Description

Ciphertext-only Attacker sees only ciphertext
Known-plaintext Some plaintext–ciphertext pairs known
Chosen-plaintext Attacker chooses plaintexts
Brute force Try all possible keys

What is a Substitution Cipher?

A substitution cipher is a classical encryption technique in which:

 Each letter of the plaintext is replaced (substituted) by another letter.

 The substitution follows a fixed rule.
 The receiver applies the reverse rule to decrypt.

Caesar Cipher is the simplest substitution cipher.

[Link] Cipher – Definition

The Caesar Cipher is a monoalphabetic substitution cipher in which:

 Each letter in the plaintext is shifted by a fixed number of positions (K)

in the alphabet.
 The same shift (key K) is used for both encryption and decryption.

Historically used by Julius Caesar to communicate securely.

Working Principle

Let:

 Plaintext alphabet = A B C ... Z

 Ciphertext alphabet = shifted by K positions

Example with K = 3:

Plaintext : A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W
X Y Z
Ciphertext: D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A B C

So:

 A→D
 B→E
 C→F
 X→A
 Y→B
 Z→C


 Mathematical Representation

Let:

 Letters be mapped as:

A = 0, B = 1, C = 2, …, Z = 25

Encryption:
C=E(P)=(P+K)mod 26

Decryption:
P=D(C)=(C−K)mod 26

Where:

 P = plaintext letter number

 C = ciphertext letter number
 K = key (shift value)
 mod 26 = wrap around after Z

Example

Plaintext: ATTACK Key:K = 3

Key Space (Very Small → Insecure)

Total possible keys:

K = 1 to 25 → Only 25 keys

This makes Caesar Cipher extremely weak.

Attacks on Caesar Cipher

Brute Force Attack

Attacker tries all 25 possible shifts:

Key = 1 → Try decoding

Key = 2 → Try decoding
...
Key = 25 → One result will make sense

Since English plaintext is recognizable, the correct key is found easily.

Frequency Analysis

 Letter frequencies in English:

o E is most common
o T, A, O follow
 Caesar cipher preserves letter frequency pattern (just shifted).

Easy to break.

What is a Monoalphabetic Cipher?

A monoalphabetic cipher is a classical substitution cipher in which:

 Each letter of the plaintext is replaced by one fixed corresponding

letter of the ciphertext.
 The same substitution mapping is used for the entire message.
 Once the mapping is chosen, it does not change.
 Example idea:
A→Q, B→W, C→E, …, Z→M
Every A in plaintext becomes Q in ciphertext.

Basic Working Principle

Mapping Table (Key)

Plaintext : A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Ciphertext: Q W E R T Y U I O P A S D F G H J K L Z X C V B N M

This full mapping table is the secret key.

Mathematical View (Conceptual)

Let:

 P = plaintext letter
 C = ciphertext letter
 f = substitution function (one-to-one mapping)

Encryption: C=f(P)

Decryption: P= P=f−1(C) Where f is a permutation of 26 letters.

Why Monoalphabetic Cipher is Insecure

Although key space is large, the cipher is vulnerable to frequency analysis

because:

 The frequency of letters in English is preserved (just substituted)

 Common letters:
o E, T, A, O, I, N
 Common digraphs:
o TH, HE, IN
 Common words:
o THE, AND, IS

What is the Playfair Cipher?

The Playfair Cipher is a classical digraph (pair-of-letters) substitution

cipher.
Instead of encrypting one letter at a time (like Caesar/monoalphabetic), it
encrypts two letters together.
This hides single-letter frequency patterns and makes cryptanalysis harder
than simple substitution.

Key Idea (Why Playfair is Stronger)

 Operates on pairs (digraphs) → reduces single-letter frequency leakage

 Uses a 5×5 key matrix built from a keyword
 Combines substitution + positional rules (row/column/rectangle)

Convention: I and J are combined to fit 25 letters into a 5×5 grid.

Constructing the 5×5 Key Matrix (Encryption Key)

Step 1: Choose a keyword

Example keyword: MONARCHY

Step 2: Remove duplicate letters

MONARCHY → M O N A R C H Y
Step 3: Fill the 5×5 grid with keyword letters (I/J together), then the
remaining alphabet

Example 5×5 Matrix (I/J combined):

M O N A R

C H Y B D

E F G I/J K

L P Q S T

U V W X Z

Preparing the Plaintext (Important Rules)

Before encryption:

1. Split plaintext into digraphs (pairs)

2. If a pair has two identical letters, insert a filler (usually X)
3. If plaintext length is odd, append X
4. Replace J with I

Example:

 Plaintext: BALLOON
 Split: BA | LL | OO | N
 Apply rules: BA | LX | LO | ON | X

Encryption Rules (Three Cases)

Let the plaintext pair be (A, B). Find their positions in the matrix.

✅Case 1: Same Row

 Replace each letter with the letter to its right (wrap around at row end)

Example:
Row: L P Q S T
Pair: L P → P Q
Same Column

 Replace each letter with the letter below it (wrap around at column
bottom)

Example:
Column: M C E L U
Pair: M C → C E

Rectangle (Different Row & Column)

 Form a rectangle with the two letters as corners

 Replace each letter with the one in the same row but the other column

Example:
Pair: M (row1,col1) and B (row2,col4)
Rectangle corners → Replace:

 M → A (row1, col4)
 B → C (row2, col1)
Hill Cipher

Unlike Playfair (which works on pairs), Hill Cipher works on blocks of size n
(e.g., 2 letters, 3 letters, etc.).

Idea

1. Convert letters to numbers:

A=0, B=1, C=2, ..., Z=25

2. Choose an invertible key matrix K (n×n).

3. Break plaintext into blocks of size n.
4. Encrypt using:

C = (K × P) mod 26

5. Convert numbers back to letters.

Step-by-Step Example (2×2 Hill
Cipher)
Step 2: Plaintext
HELLO

Convert letters to numbers:

H=7
E=4
L = 11
L = 11
O = 14

Group into 2-letter blocks (pad with X if needed):

HE → (7, 4)
LL → (11, 11)
OX → (14, 23) ← padded with X
Cipher block = HI

7→H
8→I

14 → O
25 → Z
Cipher block = OZ
Cipher block = HN

Polyalphabetic Cipher
A polyalphabetic cipher uses multiple substitution alphabets instead of just
one.
That means the same plaintext letter can encrypt to different ciphertext
letters depending on the key position. This defeats simple frequency analysis
(unlike Caesar/monoalphabetic ciphers).

The most famous polyalphabetic cipher is the Vigenère cipher, widely taught
in cryptography courses.

Core Idea

 Choose a keyword (e.g., KEY)

 Repeat the keyword to match plaintext length
 Each letter of the key decides how much to shift the plaintext letter
 Encryption is done using mod 26 arithmetic

Letter-to-Number Mapping

A = 0, B = 1, C = 2, ... Z = 25

Step 1: Choose Plaintext and Key

Plaintext : HELLO

Key : KEY

Repeat the key to match length of plaintext:

Plaintext : H E L L O

Key : K E Y K E

Step 2: Convert Letters to Numbers

Letter H E L L O
Value 7 4 11 11 14
Key K EY K E
Letter H E L L O
Val 10 4 24 10 4

Step 3: Encrypt Using Formula

C=(P+K)mod26

Plain (P) Key (K) (P + K) mod 26 Cipher

7 10 17 R
4 4 8 I
11 24 35 mod 26 = 9 J
11 10 21 V
14 4 18 S

Final Ciphertext

HELLO → RIJVS

Decryption Formula

P=(C−K)mod26

Same key is used again to decrypt.

Algorithm

Encryption Algorithm (Polyalphabetic / Vigenère)

1. Input plaintext P and key K

2. Repeat key to match length of plaintext
3. Convert P and K letters to numbers (A=0 to Z=25)
4. Compute:

Ci = (Pi + Ki) mod 26

5. Convert Ci back to letters

6. Output ciphertext
What is One-Time Pad (OTP)?

A One-Time Pad is a polyalphabetic cipher where:

 The key is truly random

 The key length = plaintext length
 The key is used only once
 Encryption is done using modular addition

Encryption:

Ci=(Pi+Ki) mod 26

Decryption:

Pi=(Ci−Ki) mod 26

Where:

 P = Plaintext
 K = Key
 C = Ciphertext
 A=0, B=1, ..., Z=25

Step-by-Step Worked Example (OTP)

Step 1: Choose Plaintext and Random Key

Plaintext : HELLO
Key (random, same length) : XMCKL

Key must be random & same length as plaintext

Step 2: Convert Letters to Numbers (A=0 to Z=25)

Letter H E L L O
Value 7 4 11 11 14
Key X M C K L
Letter H E L L O
Value 23 12 2 10 11

Step 3: Encrypt Using OTP Formula

C=(P+K)mod26

Plain (P) Key (K) (P + K) mod 26 Cipher

7 23 30 mod 26 = 4 E
4 12 16 Q
11 2 13 N
11 10 21 V
14 11 25 Z

Final Ciphertext

HELLO → EQNVZ

Step 4: Decryption

P=(C−K)mod26

Cipher (C) Key (K) (C − K) mod 26 Plain

4 23 -19 mod 26 = 7 H
16 12 4 E
13 2 11 L
21 10 11 L
25 11 14 O

Recovered Plaintext = HELLO

Algorithm (Write This in Exam)

One-Time Pad Encryption Algorithm

1. Input plaintext P
2. Generate a random key K of same length as P
3. Convert letters to numbers (A=0 to Z=25)
4. Compute:
Ci=(Pi+Ki)mod26

 Convert numbers back to letters

 Output ciphertext