| Term |
Meaning |
| Active
Attack |
The use of capturing and injecting
messages to expose secret information. |
| Attack |
A method of using the communications
between a sender and receiver to obtain secret information. |
| Authentication |
The method of confirming an identity. |
| Bit
Commitment Protocol |
A method of sending information (bits) to
a receiver, but not committing or revealing their actual value until
a later point at time. |
| Blinding |
The act of making a message a secret which
is done by multiplying it by a random value. |
| Blind
Signature |
A method of signing a message without
understanding its contents. |
| Blinding
Factor |
A random number that is generated. A
message is multiplied by this number to conceal its true content. |
| Certificate |
An electronic document that can identify
an individual. |
| Certificate
Authority |
An issuer of certificates. |
| Cryptography |
The science of keeping messages secret and
secure. |
| Cut
And Choose Protocol |
A method of sending several blind messages
to a receiver, revealing the value of all but one of them, and then
having the receiver sign the one remaining message. |
| Decryption |
The process of revealing a hidden message. |
| Digital
Signature |
A method of signing a message so that the
receiver knows that it came from the sender. The signature can
also be used to verify that the data is correct. |
| Encryption |
The process of hiding a message. |
| Hash |
A one way function that converts a
variable length message to a fixed length message. |
| Hybrid
Cryptosystem |
A cryptosystem that uses both public and
private key cryptography to exchange messages. |
| Impersonation |
An attack where the attacker pretends to
be either the receiver or the sender. |
| Key |
A tool that is used to encrypt and decrypt
messages. |
| Key
Distribution |
A method of handing out keys to devices
that are going to use secure communications. |
| Man
in the Middle Attack |
An attack that has a computer between the
sender and receiver. The computer can intercept messages and
replace the messages with its own. |
| One
Way Function |
A mathematical function that is easily to
calculate, but very difficult to invert. |
| Passive
Attack |
The method of monitoring, but not changing
messages so that secret information can be learned. |
| Public
Key |
A key that is known to everyone. It
is published. |
| Public
Key Cryptography |
A method of encrypting and decrypting
messages that uses a known, published key and a secret private key. |
| Private
Key |
A secret key that is shared between
senders and receivers. |
| Protocol |
A series of steps used to accomplish a
task. |
| Replay
Attack |
A method of recording a set of messages
and replaying them at a later time to obtain a result that breaks
the security of a system. |
| RSA
Algorithm |
An algorithm based on prime numbers and
factors to generate public and private key pairs. It is very
difficult to defeat this algorithm because of the time i would take
to determine the prime numbers for the key pair. |
| Signature |
Notification that can be used to verify
that data has not been changed. |
| Secret
Splitting |
A method of secretly splitting a message. |
| Session
Key |
A secret key shared between a sender and
receiver. The key is normally used for a short period of time. |
| Symmetric
Key Encryption |
A method of encryption that involves a
secret key that is shared between the sender and receiver. |
| Timestamp |
The date and time that a message is
sent. Typically sent in a message with a secure signature so
that the message can only be sent once. |