Cryptographic Principles Flashcards
7 cards from real Blockchain Technology practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Cryptographic Principles flashcards as text
What property of a cryptographic hash function ensures that finding two different inputs with the same hash output is computationally infeasible?
Answer: Collision resistance
Collision resistance means it is computationally infeasible to find two distinct inputs that produce the same hash output.
In elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), what is the 'discrete logarithm problem' that provides security?
Answer: Finding integer k given points P and Q=kP on the curve
ECC security relies on the difficulty of finding scalar k when given curve points P and Q=kP, known as the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem.
Which Merkle tree property allows a lightweight client to verify a transaction without downloading the entire blockchain?
Answer: Merkle proof (branch verification)
A Merkle proof provides the sibling hashes along the path from a leaf to the root, letting a client verify inclusion with O(log n) data.
What does the term 'nonce' refer to in the context of blockchain mining?
Answer: A number miners adjust to find a valid proof-of-work hash
Miners increment the nonce field in the block header until the resulting hash meets the network's difficulty target.
In a digital signature scheme, what is verified using the signer's public key?
Answer: The signature produced with the signer's private key
Anyone with the signer's public key can verify that the signature was created by the corresponding private key without revealing it.
Which cryptographic primitive is used in zero-knowledge proofs to allow one party to prove knowledge of a secret without revealing it?
Answer: Commitment schemes
Commitment schemes let a prover commit to a value and later prove properties about it without disclosing the value itself, forming a foundation for zero-knowledge proofs.
What is the purpose of a 'salt' in cryptographic password hashing used to protect wallet credentials?
Answer: To prevent precomputed rainbow table attacks
A random salt is added to each password before hashing so that identical passwords produce different hashes, defeating precomputed rainbow tables.