CSI2102 - Information Security Technologies | Case Study

Running head: INFORMATION SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES
Information Security Technologies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INFORMATION SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES
Table of Contents
1. Topic 3 Encryption..........................................................................................................2
1.1. Symmetric Encryption..............................................................................................2
1.2. Asymmetric or public key Encryption......................................................................3
1.3. Hashing.....................................................................................................................3
2. Topic 4 Secure Networks.................................................................................................4
3. Topic 5 Access Control...................................................................................................6
4. Topic 6 Firewalls.............................................................................................................8
4.1. Deep Packet Inspection.............................................................................................8
4.2. Packet Stream Analysis............................................................................................9
5. References......................................................................................................................11

2INFORMATION SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES
1. Topic 3 Encryption
Encryption is a process of data protection by converting the data into a code that can be
only accessed by the authorized user. Encryption prevents the unauthorized use or access of data
or information. Encryption is one of the most effective methods of achieving data security
(Goshwe, 2013). In order to access an encrypted file, one must obtain the security key or
passwords that will be enable them to decrypt the file. The unencrypted text before the process of
encryption is termed as plain text while the encrypted data in termed as cipher text. The process
of encryption mainly uses an algorithm to encrypt or transfer the information into a cipher text.
This method is used to protect sensitive data such as credit or debit card number by encoding and
transferring it into cipher text (Shinge & Patil, 2014). Encryption ensures trusted delivery of
sensitive information. There are mainly two main types of encryption namely symmetric
encryption and asymmetric or public key encryption.
1.1. Symmetric Encryption
Symmetric key encryption is a more secure method of encryption as it uses a common
secret key for both encryption and decryption. The data of each key is self-encrypted for
additional protection. The algorithm related to the encryption is Data Encryption Standard or
DES, which uses 56- bit encryption. However, the Advanced Encryption Standard or AES that
uses 128-bit or a 256-bit key encryption is considered as more reliable (Agrawal & Mishra,
2012). Symmetric key encryption is simpler and faster as it uses only one key. The major
drawback of this method of encryption is that only a private key is needed in both encryption and
decryption and if this key is lost, the receiver can never decrypt the information. Another

3INFORMATION SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES
obligation of this system is that the sender and receiver must exchange the key in a secure
manner.
1.2. Asymmetric or public key Encryption
Asymmetric or public key encryption needs two different keys (public and private) in
order to encrypt and decrypt data. The key that can be shared with everyone and generally used
for encryption. The key that is kept secret and used for decryption is called private key
(Thambiraja, Ramesh & Umarani, 2012). Both the keys can be employed for encryption or
decryption. This type of encryption is generally seen in web browsers to ensure a secure
connection and also in digital signature (Hoffman, 2012).
1.3. Hashing
Hashing is the transference of a string value into a smaller or shorter value of fixed length
that represents the original string. This technique is majorly used in database in indexing and to
retrieve the items or values present in that particular database. This is mainly done as it is faster
to search and find items using a shorter hashed key instead of using the original value. It is one
of the major encryption techniques as well, that hides the real value of an arbitrary sized data or
string and transforms it into a fixed sized value.
Symmetric and asymmetric key encryption is generally used for authentication and
maintaining the confidentiality of data. The asymmetric key encryption is mainly used in digital
signatures attached with electronic documents that verify the authentication of the sender. In
symmetric key encryption, the sender share a unique key with the receiver, which the receiver
uses to decrypt the data send. Therefore, the receiver or the user who have access to the private