Texas A&M Engineering Extension (TEEX) Cybersecurity | Information Security Basics (AWR 173)
Certificate Authorities help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks by creating and
distributing signed public and private key pairs. This signature serves to verify that the
public key the sender is using for encryption is truly the public key of the intended
recipient.
Select one:
True
False ** Answer** True
Two people can verify they are communicating with each other by using a
____________, which verifies each party's identity by being the distributor of public and
private keys that both parties use. These keys are digitally signed so both parties can
be assured they are communicating with each other.
Select one:
a. Hash Authority
b. Certificate Authority
c. Signature Authority
d. Digital Signature ** Answer** b. Certificate Authority
What advantages are there to performing encryption in software, rather than hardware?
Select one:
a. No additional hardware is required
b. It can be done faster
c. It can be done more efficiently
d. None of the above ** Answer** a. No additional hardware is required
What do digital signatures provide?
Select one:
a. Assurance that the stated author is the actual person that created the information
b. Security by ensuring that only the intended recipients will be able to read the data
c. Assurance that the data does not contain any viruses or malware
d. Assurance that the stated author is the actual person that created the information, as
well as assurance that the information has not been modified ** Answer** d.
Assurance that the stated author is the actual person that created the information, as
well as assurance that the information has not been modified
An encryption function takes cleartext and a key as input and returns ciphertext.
Select one:
True
,False ** Answer** True
What happens when verifying a document with a digital signature?
Select one:
a. A message is decrypted with a corresponding public key to create a message digest,
and then another message digest is created and compared to the received message
digest to verify the sender
b. A message is decrypted with the receiver's private key to create a message digest,
and then another message digest is created and compared to the received message
digest to verify the sender
c. A message is decrypted with a public key and then hashed to determine if it is an
authentic message from the proposed sender
d. A message is decrypted with a corresponding public key, and then the digital
attachment is examined to see if it is in fact a scan of the sender's signature **
Answer** a. A message is decrypted with a corresponding public key to create a
message digest, and then another message digest is created and compared to the
received message digest to verify the sender
The encryption algorithm used to encrypt or decrypt a piece of data is referred to as a:
Select one:
a. Cipher
b. Hash
c. Ciphertext
d. Key ** Answer** a. Cipher
Symmetric key encryption gets its name because:
Select one:
a. Both parties must initiate the ciphering software in order to exchange data
b. The involved parties must use two keys derived from the same cipher in order to
exchange data
c. The involved parties must use different encryption keys at the same time to exchange
data
d. Both parties must use the same encryption key to exchange data ** Answer** d.
Both parties must use the same encryption key to exchange data
The process of converting ciphertext to plaintext is known as:
Select one:
a. Cryptography
b. Encryption
c. Decryption
d. Cipher processing ** Answer** c. Decryption
, A simple Caesar cipher uses a shift to encrypt while the XOR cipher needs a key to
encrypt.
Select one:
True
False ** Answer** True
Symmetric key encryption requires keys to be distributed prior to communicating with
the other party (i.e. the key is computed ahead of time, before initiating any
communications).
Select one:
True
False ** Answer** False
An encryption key that is used by anyone in order to encrypt a file and send it to the
owner of the encryption key so that the owner may decode it is referred to as:
Select one:
a. A hashed key
b. A symmetric key
c. A public key
d. A private key ** Answer** c. A public key
_________ is the process of transforming cleartext into ciphertext.
Select one:
a. Decryption Incorrect
b. Cryptography
c. Cipher
d. Encryption ** Answer** d. Encryption
How does a valid digital signature assure the recipient that the document has not been
tampered with?
Select one:
a. The digital signature was encrypted using the recipient's public key
b. The digital signature is transmitted in a separate message from the document
c. A valid digital signature cannot assure the recipient the document has not been
tampered with
d. The hash contained in the digital signature was encrypted with the sender's private
key and could not have been modified without making the signature invalid. If the
signature is valid, then the data must not have been tampered with. ** Answer** d.
The hash contained in the digital signature was encrypted with the sender's private key
and could not have been modified without making the signature invalid. If the signature
is valid, then the data must not have been tampered with.
Certificate Authorities help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks by creating and
distributing signed public and private key pairs. This signature serves to verify that the
public key the sender is using for encryption is truly the public key of the intended
recipient.
Select one:
True
False ** Answer** True
Two people can verify they are communicating with each other by using a
____________, which verifies each party's identity by being the distributor of public and
private keys that both parties use. These keys are digitally signed so both parties can
be assured they are communicating with each other.
Select one:
a. Hash Authority
b. Certificate Authority
c. Signature Authority
d. Digital Signature ** Answer** b. Certificate Authority
What advantages are there to performing encryption in software, rather than hardware?
Select one:
a. No additional hardware is required
b. It can be done faster
c. It can be done more efficiently
d. None of the above ** Answer** a. No additional hardware is required
What do digital signatures provide?
Select one:
a. Assurance that the stated author is the actual person that created the information
b. Security by ensuring that only the intended recipients will be able to read the data
c. Assurance that the data does not contain any viruses or malware
d. Assurance that the stated author is the actual person that created the information, as
well as assurance that the information has not been modified ** Answer** d.
Assurance that the stated author is the actual person that created the information, as
well as assurance that the information has not been modified
An encryption function takes cleartext and a key as input and returns ciphertext.
Select one:
True
,False ** Answer** True
What happens when verifying a document with a digital signature?
Select one:
a. A message is decrypted with a corresponding public key to create a message digest,
and then another message digest is created and compared to the received message
digest to verify the sender
b. A message is decrypted with the receiver's private key to create a message digest,
and then another message digest is created and compared to the received message
digest to verify the sender
c. A message is decrypted with a public key and then hashed to determine if it is an
authentic message from the proposed sender
d. A message is decrypted with a corresponding public key, and then the digital
attachment is examined to see if it is in fact a scan of the sender's signature **
Answer** a. A message is decrypted with a corresponding public key to create a
message digest, and then another message digest is created and compared to the
received message digest to verify the sender
The encryption algorithm used to encrypt or decrypt a piece of data is referred to as a:
Select one:
a. Cipher
b. Hash
c. Ciphertext
d. Key ** Answer** a. Cipher
Symmetric key encryption gets its name because:
Select one:
a. Both parties must initiate the ciphering software in order to exchange data
b. The involved parties must use two keys derived from the same cipher in order to
exchange data
c. The involved parties must use different encryption keys at the same time to exchange
data
d. Both parties must use the same encryption key to exchange data ** Answer** d.
Both parties must use the same encryption key to exchange data
The process of converting ciphertext to plaintext is known as:
Select one:
a. Cryptography
b. Encryption
c. Decryption
d. Cipher processing ** Answer** c. Decryption
, A simple Caesar cipher uses a shift to encrypt while the XOR cipher needs a key to
encrypt.
Select one:
True
False ** Answer** True
Symmetric key encryption requires keys to be distributed prior to communicating with
the other party (i.e. the key is computed ahead of time, before initiating any
communications).
Select one:
True
False ** Answer** False
An encryption key that is used by anyone in order to encrypt a file and send it to the
owner of the encryption key so that the owner may decode it is referred to as:
Select one:
a. A hashed key
b. A symmetric key
c. A public key
d. A private key ** Answer** c. A public key
_________ is the process of transforming cleartext into ciphertext.
Select one:
a. Decryption Incorrect
b. Cryptography
c. Cipher
d. Encryption ** Answer** d. Encryption
How does a valid digital signature assure the recipient that the document has not been
tampered with?
Select one:
a. The digital signature was encrypted using the recipient's public key
b. The digital signature is transmitted in a separate message from the document
c. A valid digital signature cannot assure the recipient the document has not been
tampered with
d. The hash contained in the digital signature was encrypted with the sender's private
key and could not have been modified without making the signature invalid. If the
signature is valid, then the data must not have been tampered with. ** Answer** d.
The hash contained in the digital signature was encrypted with the sender's private key
and could not have been modified without making the signature invalid. If the signature
is valid, then the data must not have been tampered with.
