Cryptography & Network Security – Question Bank (7 & 14 Marks)
Unit 1: Introduction to Cryptography
1. Define cryptography. Explain the goals of cryptography.
2. Differentiate between confusion and diffusion with examples.
3. Explain substitution and transposition techniques.
4. What is a monoalphabetic cipher? Explain with example.
5. Write short notes on classical encryption techniques.
6. What is a brute-force attack? How does key size affect its complexity?
7. Explain the concept of public-key cryptography.
8. What is a one-way hash function? Give its properties.
Unit 2: Symmetric-Key Cryptography
9. Explain Feistel structure with neat diagram.
10. Describe the working of DES encryption (round structure only).
11. Compare DES, 3DES, and AES.
12. What is block cipher mode of operation? Explain ECB mode.
13. Explain Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode with example.
14. What is S-box? Explain its role in block ciphers.
15. Write the advantages of AES over DES.
Unit 3: Asymmetric-Key Cryptography
16. Explain the Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm.
17. What is RSA? Explain key generation steps.
18. What are digital signatures? Explain their importance.
19. Differentiate between symmetric and asymmetric cryptography.
20. Explain the concept of modular arithmetic used in cryptography.
21. Write short notes on: Euler’s Totient Function.
Unit 4: Message Integrity & Authentication
22. What is Message Authentication Code (MAC)? Explain.
23. Explain HMAC with diagram.
24. What is digital certificate?
25. Explain SSL/TLS handshake in brief.
26. What is replay attack? How to prevent it?
27. What is Kerberos? Explain its basic idea.
Unit 5: Network Security
28. Explain firewall types.
29. What is IDS? Differentiate HIDS and NIDS.
30. Explain IPsec AH and ESP briefly.
31. What is VPN? Explain its components.
32. Define phishing, malware, spyware.
33. Explain DOS and DDOS attack.
34. What is SMTP? How is email secured?
14-Marks Questions
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Unit 1
1. Describe Caesar cipher, Playfair cipher, and Vigenère cipher with detailed examples.
2. Explain in detail the cryptanalysis of classical ciphers.
3. Discuss various types of security attacks with examples.
Unit 2
4. Explain DES algorithm in detail with diagrams and all steps.
5. Explain AES encryption and decryption process in detail.
6. Describe different block cipher modes (ECB, CBC, CFB, OFB, CTR). Compare them.
7. Explain Feistel cipher structure and how it helps design modern symmetric algorithms.
Unit 3
8. Describe RSA algorithm in detail with an example for encryption and decryption.
9. Explain Diffie-Hellman key exchange with numerical example.
10. Explain Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) with diagrams and advantages.
11. Explain digital signatures, digital certificates, and the working of PKI in detail.
Unit 4
12. Explain SHA family of algorithms in detail.
13. Explain MAC, HMAC, and digital signatures and compare them.
14. Describe Kerberos authentication protocol with complete workflow and diagrams.
15. Explain email security architecture (PGP & S/MIME) in detail.
Unit 5
16. Explain firewall architectures and packet filtering in detail.
17. Explain IDS and IPS architectures with case studies.
18. Discuss IPsec architecture and functioning of AH and ESP.
19. Explain secure socket layer (SSL)/TLS protocol architecture in detail.
20. Discuss various network attacks and their countermeasures.