Wireless Networking: Encryption Algorithms, Strengths and Weaknesses

Running Head: WIRELESS NETWORKING 0
Student Name
[Type the company
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Wireless Networking

WIRELESS NETWORKING 1
Table of Contents
Part A.........................................................................................................................................1
Q1: DES (data encryption standard)......................................................................................1
Q2: Three DES.......................................................................................................................1
Q3: AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)...........................................................................3
Q4: RC4.................................................................................................................................3
Q5: SHA.................................................................................................................................4
Q6: MD5................................................................................................................................4
Q7: PKI (public key infrastructure).......................................................................................5
Q8: PGP (pretty good privacy)..............................................................................................6
Q9: Blowfish..........................................................................................................................6
Q10: Access control permission (ACP).................................................................................7
Q11: Symmetric encryption...................................................................................................7
Q12: Timestamps...................................................................................................................9
Q13: Access control permission (ACP)...............................................................................10
Q14: One message digits (MD5, SHA)................................................................................10
Q15: Replay security............................................................................................................11
Q16: WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)...............................................................................11
Q17: WPA...........................................................................................................................13
Q18: WPA2..........................................................................................................................13
Part 2: Ranking.........................................................................................................................13

WIRELESS NETWORKING 2
Part A
Q1: DES (data encryption standard)
It is a symmetric- key block cipher which is developed by NIST (National Institute of
standard and technology).
Strengths of DES: lies on two facts
1. 56-bit keys use: it is used in encryption. 256 possible keys make it impractical for a
brute force to attack on a number of keys like this.
2. The algorithm nature: by exploiting the DES algorithm’s characteristics, Cryptanalyst
is able to do cryptanalysis but none of them has succeeded to search weakness.
3. Able to recognize plaintext
Weakness: the design of the cipher has a weakness
1. Same output can be created because of 2 selected inputs to an S box
2. Starting and last permutation’s purpose is not clear.
3. It has a short key length which makes it easy to break
Q2: Three DES
Original DES was replaced by new triple DES which uses three keys including 56 bits
each.
Strength
 Works on 3 individual keys
 Able to make a dependable hardware encryption solution

WIRELESS NETWORKING 3
 Works on 168 bits
Weakness
 Slow
 Not strong enough to protect data for a longer time
 In limited resources platform, it is unsuitable.
Q3: AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
It is an algorithm, trusted by various organizations as the standard. Commonly used
block cipher.
Strength
 Extremely efficient in the form of 128 bit.
 For heavy duty encryption, it uses 192 and 256 keys
 It is safe because it uses brute force 128 bit
Weakness
 The algebraic structure is too simple.
 With software, it is hard to implement
 It uses the same way of encryption for every block.
Q4: RC4
It is a shared key stream cipher algorithm which requires a secure exchange of shared
keys.it uses length keys from 1 to 256 bits. It is developed by Ronald Rivest.
Strength
1. Difficult to find any value in the table
2. The location used to select every value in a sequence is difficult to know