Module 1: Introduction - Number Theory and Basic Cryptography
• Explain Euclidean Algorithm.
• State the rules for finding Euler's phi function. Calculate φ(11). (2023 May, 2022 Dec)
• Explain the relationship between Security Services and Mechanisms in detail. (2023 May)
• Explain with examples keyed and keyless transposition ciphers. (2022 Dec)
• Explain TCP/IP vulnerabilities layer wise. (2024 Dec)
Module 2: Symmetric and Asymmetric key Cryptography and key Management
• Explain RC4 stream cipher. (2024 May)
• Apply Diffie Hellman key exchange algorithm, two users P & Q will agree on two numbers as
n=11 & g=7 is generator. x=3, y=6 are private keys of P & Q respectively. What is shared
secret key? (2024 Dec)
• Explain Diffie Hellman key agreement algorithm. Also discuss the possible attacks on it.
Consider the example where A and B decide to use the Diffie Hellman algorithm to share a
key. They choose p=23 and g=5 as the public parameters. Their secret keys are 6 and 15
respectively. Compute the secret key that they share. (2022 Dec, 2024 May)
• Discuss DES with reference to the following points:
o Block size and key size
o Need of expansion permutation
o Role of S-box
o Weak keys and semi-weak keys
o Possible attacks on DES (2024 Dec, 2023 May)
• Explain AES algorithm. Highlight the difference between AES and DES. (2022 Dec)
• Explain Advanced Encrypted Standards (AES) in detail. (2024 May)
• Use the Playfair cipher with the key "DOCUMENT" to encrypt the message "ALL THE BEST".
(2024 Dec)
• For the Knapsack: {1 6 8 15 24}, find the plain text code if the ciphertext is 39 (2022 May)
• Elaborate the steps of key generation using the RSA algorithm. In the RSA system, the public
key (E, N) of user A is defined as (7, 187). Calculate φ(N) and private key 'D'. What is the
cipher text for M=10 using the public key. (2023 May)
• Use RSA algorithm, user A has public key (17,321), B has public key (5,321). Calculate private
keys of both the users. Encrypt m=7 by B's public keys. How B can decrypt the same. (2024
Dec)
Module 3: Cryptographic Hash Functions
• What characteristics are needed in a secure hash function? Explain secure hash algorithm on
512 bits. (2024 Dec)
• What goals are served using a message digest? Explain using MD5. (2023 May)
• Differentiate between SHA-1 and MD5 (2024 May)
Module 4: Authentication Protocols & Digital Signature Schemes
• Explain challenge response-based authentication tokens (2023 May)
• Discuss RSA as a digital signature algorithm. (2024 May)
• Elaborate the sign and verification process of RSA as a digital signature scheme. (2022 Dec)
• Discuss various attacks on digital signatures and the methods by which they can be
overcome. (2022 Dec)
• Why are digital certificates and signatures required? What is the role of the digital signature
in digital certificates? Explain any one digital signature algorithm. (2024 Dec, 2023 May)
Module 5: Network Security and Applications
• How does PGP achieve confidentiality and authentication in emails? (2024 Dec, 2023 May)
• Explain key rings in PGP. (2023 Dec)
• What are the different protocols in SSL? How do clients and servers establish SSL
connections? (2023 Dec)
• Enlist the various functions of the different protocols of SSL. Explain the phases of the
handshake protocol. (2023 May)
• How is security achieved in Transport and Tunnel modes of IPSEC? Explain the role of AH and
ESP. (2023 May)
• Explain IPSec protocol in detail. Also, write applications and advantages of the same. (2023
Dec)
• What are different types of firewalls? How is a firewall different from IDS. (2024 Dec)
Module 6: System Security
• Explain buffer overflow attack (2023 May)
• Explain worms and viruses (2024 May)
• Explain SQL injection (2022 Dec)
• What is a DDOS attack? Explain how it is launched. (2023 May)