CCP Cryptography & Information Security 2

Question 1

In Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), what is the role of a Certificate Authority (CA)?

Accepted Answer

To issue and sign digital certificates that bind public keys to identities

Answer

A Certificate Authority issues digital certificates and digitally signs them to bind a public key to an entity's identity, establishing trust in the PKI.

Question 2

Which algorithm is the foundation of RSA encryption's security?

Accepted Answer

The difficulty of factoring large prime numbers

Answer

RSA's security relies on the computational difficulty of factoring the product of two large prime numbers back into its prime factors.

Question 3

What does the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol accomplish?

Accepted Answer

It allows two parties to establish a shared secret over an insecure channel without prior contact

Answer

Diffie-Hellman allows two parties to jointly derive a shared secret key over an unsecured channel without ever transmitting the secret itself.

Question 4

What is the purpose of a Message Authentication Code (MAC)?

Accepted Answer

To verify both the integrity and authenticity of a message using a shared secret key

Answer

A MAC is computed using both the message content and a shared secret key, allowing the recipient to verify that the message was not tampered with and came from a legitimate sender.

Question 5

In SSL/TLS, what does the handshake process primarily accomplish?

Accepted Answer

It negotiates cipher suites and establishes session keys for secure communication

Answer

The TLS handshake negotiates the protocol version and cipher suite, authenticates the server, and establishes a shared session key for encrypting subsequent communication.

(CCP) Certified Computing Professional Practice Test

(CCP) Certified Computing Professional Practice Test

CCP Cryptography & Information Security 2