Level 1: 3 or 5 Marks
(Recall facts, definitions, basic concepts)
� Basic Concepts of Security
1. Define Confidentiality, Integrity, and Authentication.
2. What is meant by security in computer systems?
3. List any four types of security attacks.
4. Define cryptography.
5. State two applications of cryptography.
6. What is symmetric cryptography?
7. What is asymmetric cryptography?
� Cryptographic Techniques
8. Define block cipher and stream cipher.
9. What is a secret key cryptography system?
10. List the basic principles of security (CIA triad).
11. What are active attacks?
12. What are passive attacks?
� Algorithms & Classical Ciphers
13. What is DES?
14. What is the IDEA algorithm?
15. Define RSA algorithm.
16. What is Diffie-Hellman key exchange?
17. What is a Caesar cipher?
18. What is a substitution cipher?
19. What is a transposition cipher?
20. What is AES?
🔹 Level 2: 8 or 9 Marks
� Security Concepts
1. Explain the need for security in computer systems with examples.
2. Describe the CIA triad with real-life examples.
3. Differentiate between active and passive attacks.
4. Explain how security attacks affect systems.
� Cryptography Concepts
5. Explain how secret key cryptography ensures secure communication.
6. Differentiate between symmetric and asymmetric cryptography.
7. Compare block ciphers and stream ciphers with examples.
8. Explain the working principle of stream ciphers.
9. Describe encryption and decryption in block cipher systems.
� Algorithms Understanding
10. Explain the Feistel structure used in DES.
11. Describe the key generation process in DES.
12. Explain how IDEA uses modular arithmetic operations.
13. Describe the steps involved in RSA algorithm.
14. Explain how Diffie-Hellman establishes a shared key.
15. Describe the structure of asymmetric cryptography.
� Comparative Understanding
16. Compare advantages and limitations of block and stream ciphers.
17. Differentiate between substitution and transposition ciphers.
18. Explain why Caesar cipher is weak.
🔹 Level 3: 12 Marks
(Use knowledge in practical or problem-solving scenarios)
🔵 Security Application
1. A company wants to send confidential data securely.
➤ Which cryptographic technique would you use? Justify.
2. Two users want to communicate securely.
➤ Apply symmetric key cryptography to show the process.
3. Illustrate how asymmetric cryptography is used in secure email communication.
4. Apply steps to demonstrate encryption and decryption in a symmetric system.
🔵 Cipher & Algorithm Application
5. Apply the DES encryption process to transform plaintext into ciphertext.
6. Demonstrate one round of DES using Feistel structure.
7. Given plaintext and key, apply DES key generation steps.
8. Apply the IDEA algorithm using modular operations.
9. Demonstrate subkey generation in IDEA.
🔵 Real-world & Analytical Application
10. Show a real-life scenario where both symmetric and asymmetric cryptography are
used together.
11. Apply RSA algorithm steps (key generation, encryption, decryption) for a sample
input.
12. Demonstrate how Diffie-Hellman works over an insecure channel.
13. Given an intercepted message, apply cryptanalysis techniques to break a
substitution cipher.
🔵 Comparative Application
14. Compare symmetric vs asymmetric cryptography in a practical scenario.
15. Analyze which algorithm (AES, Blowfish, RC5) is suitable for a given system.
16. Evaluate the security strength of AES against attacks in a practical use case.