Introduction To Basic Cryptography Hashing In This Essay

Introduction To Basic Cryptography Hashingin This Essay You Will Pro

Introduction to Basic Cryptography: Hashing In this essay, you will provide a real-world example of how cryptography/hashing can be used in order to secure data transmission across a network. Provide a scenario and explain how data is secured using the plaintext and ciphertext process that was discussed last week. In addition to the video, choose one other scholarly reference to support your discussion. Requirements: Submit in a Word document. Include cover page Must be a minimum of two pages (excluding references and cover page) Appropriate APA format is required. Properly cite and reference any borrowed resource(s).

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction to Basic Cryptography: Hashing is a fundamental aspect of information security that plays a critical role in protecting data during transmission across networks. This paper presents a real-world scenario illustrating how hashing and cryptography work together to secure data, emphasizing the concepts of plaintext and ciphertext, and the role of hashing within this context.

Scenario Description

Imagine a financial institution that needs to transmit sensitive customer information, such as Social Security numbers and account details, across the internet to a central server located in a different geographical region. The primary concern in this scenario is ensuring that this data remains confidential and unaltered during transmission, despite the presence of potential eavesdroppers or malicious actors seeking to access or manipulate the information.

Use of Cryptography and Hashing

To secure the data, the institution employs a combination of cryptographic techniques, notably symmetric encryption and hashing. First, the plaintext data—customer information—is encrypted using a symmetric encryption algorithm such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). This process transforms the readable data (plaintext) into ciphertext, a scrambled version that appears meaningless to anyone without the decryption key, thus ensuring confidentiality.

Hashing plays a complementary role in this security architecture. Before transmission, the institution generates a hash value of the plaintext data using a secure hashing algorithm such as SHA-256. This hash value acts as a digital fingerprint of the data. The hash is then transmitted alongside the encrypted data. Upon receipt, the server decrypts the ciphertext to retrieve the plaintext and recomputes the hash value of the received data. If the computed hash matches the transmitted hash, the integrity and authenticity of the data are verified, confirming that it has not been altered during transmission.

The Plaintext and Ciphertext Process

In this scenario, the plaintext refers to the original customer data that needs to be transmitted securely. The data is first hashed to create a digital fingerprint, which is transmitted alongside the encrypted data. The data itself is then encrypted into ciphertext, which is sent across the network. Upon reception, the server decrypts the ciphertext back into plaintext and verifies the data integrity by comparing hash values.

This process exemplifies how cryptography ensures confidentiality through encryption, while hashing guarantees data integrity and authenticity. The combined use of these techniques provides comprehensive security, preventing unauthorized access and tampering during data transmission.

Supporting Literature

According to Stallings (2020), cryptographic hashing is essential in verifying data integrity and authenticating data sources in digital communications. Hash functions provide a quick and reliable mechanism for detecting any changes to the data, making them invaluable in secure data exchanges. Furthermore, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, 2021) emphasizes that combining encryption with hashing mechanisms, such as HMAC (Hash-Based Message Authentication Code), offers a robust approach to securing data against eavesdropping and tampering.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cryptography and hashing serve as critical tools in safeguarding data during transmission across networks. The scenario of transmitting sensitive financial information illustrates the practical application of these methods in real-world settings. Encryption ensures confidentiality by making data unreadable without proper keys, while hashing offers a means to verify the integrity and authenticity of the data. Together, these techniques provide a comprehensive security framework that protects against interception, tampering, or unauthorized access, thereby maintaining trust and security in digital communications.

References

Stallings, W. (2020). Cryptography and Network Security: Principles and Practice (8th ed.). Pearson.

National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2021). Recommendation for Applications Using Approved Hash Algorithms. NIST Special Publication 800-107. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-107

[Additional scholarly references supporting the discussion can be added here following appropriate APA format.]