Top 30 cryptographer interview

questions and answers for 2021

Level 1 Questions
1. What is cryptography?

Cryptography is a specialized area of cybersecurity, but it has a broad array of applications that
we will examine later. Kaspersky Lab has defined it as follows: “Cryptography is the study of
secure communications techniques that allow only the sender and intended recipient of a
message to view its contents. In addition, cryptography also covers the obfuscation of
information in images using techniques such as microdots or merging.”

2. What exactly are encryption and decryption?

The terms “scrambling” and “descrambling” are commonly known. In terms of decryption,
scrambling and descrambling are also known as “encryption” and “decryption.”

For example: when the written message “I LOVE YOU” is scrambled by the sending party, it
becomes what is known as the “encrypted message.” This means that the written message has
been disguised in such a manner that it would be totally meaningless, or in the terms of
cryptography, it would be undecipherable.

Encryption can also be described as conversion of information from a readable state to apparent
nonsense. When the receiving party receives this encrypted written message, it must be
unscrambled into an understandable and comprehensible state of context. This process of
unscrambling is also known as decryption

3. What is plaintext or cleartext?

The decrypted message, when it is returned back into its plain or original state of context which
is comprehensible and decipherable, is also known as cleartext or plaintext.

4. What is ciphertext?

When the message is encrypted into a state which is totally incomprehensible and
undecipherable, this is known as the ciphertext. So, to illustrate all of this, with the previous
example, when the sending party creates the written message of “I LOVE YOU”, this is the
plaintext or the cleartext. Once this message is encrypted into the format of “UYO I VEOL” and
while it is in transit, it becomes known as the ciphertext. Then, once the receiving party gets this
ciphertext and then decrypts it into a comprehensible and understandable form of “I LOVE
YOU,” this message then becomes the plaintext or the cleartext again.

5. How does the encryption process actually take place?

This is a question in which we will have more specific answers for later on. But generally
speaking, in its simplest form, the text or the written message is encrypted via a special
mathematical formula. This formula is specifically known as the “encryption algorithm.”
Because the ciphertext is now encrypted by this special mathematical algorithm, it would be
rendered useless to a third party with malicious intent, because of its totally garbled nature.

6. What are the origins of cryptography?

For almost as long as people have been writing, people have wanted to protect what was written.
According to some scholars, cryptography can be traced all the way back to 1900 BC, when the
tomb of Khnumhotep II used unknown hieroglyphs to apparently mask the intent of a carved
message. Other early messages include simple ciphers on Mesopotamian clay tablets and the
Greek use of a “scytale,” a decoding stick, which would reveal a message when a strip of cloth
with a cipher on it was wrapped around it.

7. What is the Caesar cipher?

In the Caesar methodology, each letter of the text or the written message is substituted with
another letter of the alphabet which is so many spaces or letters later in the alphabet. This is
probably the simplest form of encryption, because each letter in plain text message is literally
substituted by another letter, thus forming the ciphertext. This methodology (which was said to
be used by Julius Caesar) is probably the most-cited type of algorithm in academic literature.

8. What is the goal of cryptography?

Although the main purpose of cryptography appears to be making content and images
undecipherable, the true goal of cryptography in an information technology context is to ensure
the confidentiality and integrity of any information technology system. In other words, the
content and images must remain private between the sending and the receiving parties; while
they are in transit across the Internet, assurances must be provided that they will remain intact
and not altered in any way.

9. Are there any other ciphers that are available, other than the Caesar
cipher?

Yes, there are. As cryptography has evolved over time, so has the degree of sophistication of
these other ciphers.

10. Just how important is the field of cryptography?

Cryptography is going to play a very large role in cybersecurity today and in the future. For
example, it will be vital to encrypt all kinds and types data, especially as it relates to a business
or corporation and their customers.
 Level 2 Questions
1. What is the difference between a private key and a public key?

As it was alluded to earlier, one of the main purposes of cryptography is to scramble forms of
content and images into an undecipherable state. You may be wondering how this is all exactly
done. The answer is that it primarily involves the use of a key. Traditionally, this is a private key.
With this particular key, the sending party can encrypt the plaintext, and from there the content
or image will be sent in its garbled state across the network medium to the receiving party. A
private key is private to the sender or the receiver, while a public key may be available to a
group.

2. What are symmetric and asymmetric key systems?

A symmetric key system uses only the private key, and the asymmetric key system makes use of
both the public key and the private key. The latter used primarily in what is known as a Public
Key Infrastructure, or PKI for short. It will be discussed in more detail later on.

3. What kinds of threats exist for a cryptographic system?

There are three traditional types of attacks, and they are as follows:

 Ciphertext-only attack: With this type of attack, only the ciphertext is known to the attacker. But
if this particular individual is well-trained in statistics, then he or she can use various statistical
techniques to break the ciphertext back into the plaintext
 Known-plaintext attack: This occurs when the hacker knows some aspect of either the letter
pairings; thus, they can consequently crack the ciphertext back into the plaintext
 Chosen-plaintext attack: With this type of attack, the hacker can choose the plaintext and view
the encrypted output which is being transmitted across the network medium. From this, they can
reverse-engineer it back into its ciphertext form in an attempt to figure out the specific encryption
scheme
4. What is polyalphabetic encryption?

This was listed as a specific type of cipher earlier. A polyalphabetic cipher is simply a
substitution cipher that uses multiple alphabets for substitution.

5. What is a block cipher?

With this method of transposition, the plaintext message is encrypted into its scrambled format
by being broken up into blocks and encrypted block-by-block. Let us illustrate this with our
example used before, but this time, let us assume a block of three characters, mathematically
represented as 3 bits, or where k=3.

Plaintext: I LOVE YOU

 Plaintext Block: ILO VEY OUX

Ciphertext Block: OLI YEV XUO

Ciphertext: OLIYEVXUO

6. What is cipher block chaining?

The initialization vectors are part of a larger process known as cipher block chaining, or CBC.
Within this methodology, multiple loops of encryption are created in order to further totally
scramble the ciphertext.

Here is the how the process works:

1. The Initialization Vector is created first

2. Through a mathematical process known as XOR (which stands for exclusive OR and is used quite
frequently to determine if the bits of two strings of data match or not), the first created Initialization
Vector is XOR’d with the first block of ciphertext data
3. The first chunk of data which has been XOR’d is further broken down by another layer of
encryption
4. This process is then continued until all of the blocks of ciphertext have been XOR’d and enveloped
with another layer of encryption
This is how cipher block chaining gets its title. For instance, steps 1-4 create the first loop or
chain; the second loop or chain is then next initiated, and so on, until the ciphertext has been
fully analyzed and encrypted by this methodology.

7. What are the disadvantages of symmetric key cryptography?

Symmetric key cryptography suffers from three major vulnerabilities:

1. Key storage and recovery

2. Key distribution
3. Open systems
As previously mentioned, symmetric cryptography requires the sharing of secret keys
between the two parties (sending and receiving), which further requires the implicit trust that
this key will not be shared with any other outside third party. The only way that any type of
secrecy can be achieved in this regard would be to establish some sort of trusted channel. An
option here would be the use of a so-called designated controller. But this carries third-party
risks as well.

With regards to the second vulnerability, since there will be many more lines of
communication between the sending and the receiving parties, the need to implement more
 controllers becomes totally unrealistic as well as unfeasible. Thus, the distribution of the private
keys can become a virtual nightmare.

Finally, with the third vulnerability, private or symmetric cryptography works best only when it
is used in a very closed or “sterile” environment, where there are at best only a few (or even just
a handful) of sending and receiving parties. In other words, given the threat landscape today, it
would be completely unrealistic to implement a symmetric cryptography system in an open
environment.

8. How is a Key Distribution Center (KDC) used?

The Key Distribution Center consists of a database of all of the end users at the place of business
or corporation and their respective passwords, as well other trusted servers and computers along
the network.

If an end user wishes to communicate with another end user on a different computer system, the
sending party enters their password into the KDC using a specialized software called “Kerberos.”
When the password is received by the KDC, the Kerberos then uses a special mathematical
algorithm which adds the receiving party’s information and converts it over to a cryptographic
key.

Once this encrypted key has been established, the KDC then sets up and establishes other keys
for the encryption of the communication session between the sending and the receiving party.
These other keys are also referred to as tickets. These tickets will actually expire at a
predetermined point in time in order to prevent unauthorized use, and it would also be rendered
useless if it is stolen, hijacked or intercepted by a third party.

9. What are the mathematical algorithms used in symmetric cryptography?

They are as follows:

1. The Needham-Schroder algorithm

2. The Digital Encryption Standard algorithm (DES)
3. The Triple Digit Encryption Standard algorithm (3DES)
4. The International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA)
5. The Advanced Encryption Standard algorithm (AES)
10. What is the hashing function?

The hashing function is a one-way mathematical function. This means that it can be used to
encode data, but it cannot decode data. Its primary purpose is not to encrypt the ciphertext;
rather, its primary purpose is to prove that the message in the ciphertext has not changed in any
way, shape or form. This is also referred to as “message integrity.” If the mathematical function
has changed in any way, the message has then changed.
 Level 3 Questions
1. What is asymmetric key cryptography?

In the most simplistic terms, asymmetric cryptography can be likened to that of a safety deposit
box at a local bank. In this example, there are normally two set of keys used. One key is the one
which the bank gives to you. This can be referred to as the public key, because it is used over and
over again. The second key is the private key which the bank keeps in their possession at all
times, and only the bank personnel know where it is kept.

The world of asymmetric cryptography is just like this example, though of course, it is much
more complex than this in practice.

Let us refer to the public key as “pk” and the private key as “sk.” So, to represent both of these
keys together, it would be mathematically demonstrated as (pk, sk). It is then the sending party
which uses the public key (pk) to encrypt the message they wish to send to the receiving party,
which then uses the private key (sk) to decrypt the ciphertext from the sending party.

2. What are the key differences between asymmetric and symmetric

cryptography?

With symmetric cryptography, the complete secrecy of the key must be assured. Whereas
asymmetric cryptography requires only half of the secrecy, namely that of the private key (sk).

Secondly, symmetric cryptography utilizes the same secret key for the encryption and decryption
of the ciphertext, but in asymmetric cryptography two different keys (namely the public and the
private keys) are used for the encryption and the decryption of the ciphertext.

3. What are the disadvantages of asymmetric cryptography?

Despite the advantages that asymmetric cryptography has, it does possess one very serious
disadvantage: When compared to symmetric cryptography, it is two to three times slower than
symmetric cryptography. This is primarily because of the multiple parties and multiple keys
which are involved.

4. What are the mathematical algorithms used in asymmetric cryptography?

There are three of them that are primarily used:

1. The RSA algorithm

2. The Diffie-Hellman algorithm
3. The Elliptical Wave Theory algorithm
5. What is the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)?
 Since the public key has become so important in the encryption and the decryption of the
ciphertext messages between the sending and receiving parties and given the nature of its public
role in the overall communication process, great pains and extensive research have been taken to
create an infrastructure which would make the process of creating and sending keys much more
secure and robust.

In fact, this infrastructure is a very sophisticated form of asymmetric cryptography, and it is

known as the “Public Key Infrastructure” or “PKI” for short. The basic premise of PKI is to help
create, organize, store, distribute and maintain the public keys.

6. What are the specific components of the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)?

The PKI consists of the following components:

1. The Certificate Authority (CA): This is the party who issues the digital certificates
2. The Digital Certificate: This serves to verify the identity of the certificate holder and is issued by
the CA. These digital certificates are typically kept in the local computer of the employee, or even
the central server at the place of business or organization
3. The LDAP or X.500 Directories: These are the databases which collect and distribute the digital
certificates from the CA
4. The Registration Authority (RA): If the place of business or organization is very large (such as a
multinational corporation), this entity usually handles and processes the requests for the required
digital certificates and then transmits those requests to the CA to process and create the required
digital certificates
7. What are the technical specifications of the Certificate Authority?

The Certificate Authority consists of the following technical specifications:

1. The digital certificate version number

2. The serial number
3. The signature algorithm identifier
4. The issuer name
5. The validity period
6. The public key
7. The subject distinguished name
8. The subject alternate name email
9. The subject name URL
8. How does the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) work?
 At a macro level, this is how the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) works:

1. The request for the Digital Certificate is sent to the appropriate Certificate Authority (CA)
2. After this request has been processed, the Digital Certificate is issued to the person who is
requesting it
3. The Digital Certificate then gets signed by confirming the actual identity of the person who is
requesting it
4. The Digital Certificate can now be used to encrypt the plaintext into the ciphertext which is sent
from the sending party to the receiving party.
9. What is the LDAP protocol and how is it used in a Public Key Infrastructure
(PKI)?

LDAP is an acronym which stands for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. This is a database
protocol used for the updating and searching of the directories which run over the TCP/IP
network protocol (this is the network protocol which is primarily used by the PKI infrastructure).

It is the job of the LDAP server of the Public Key Infrastructure to contain information and data
as it relates to the digital certificates and the public and the private key storage locations, as well
as the matching public and private key labels.

The Certificate Authority uses a combination of the end user name and the matching tags to
specifically locate the digital certificates on the LDAP server. From that point onwards, the
LDAP server checks to see if the requested digital certificate is valid or not, and it if it is valid, it
then retrieves a digital certificate which can then be sent to the end user.

Although all digital certificates have a finite lifespan when they are first issued, they can also be
revoked for any reason at any time by the Public Key Infrastructure Administrator.

10. What are the security vulnerabilities of hashing functions?

One major security vulnerability of using hashes is that they can be altered while it is en route. In
other words, a cyber-attacker can intercept the ciphertext and its associated hash, alter both and
create a brand-new ciphertext and hash.

As a result, the receiving party is fooled into believing that this new, altered ciphertext and new,
altered hash are the original sent by the sending party while the cyber-attacker keeps the actual
ciphertext and hash which was generated the first time around.

To fix this, the ciphertext is combined with a “secret key” at the point of origination first, then
the hash is created. As a result, this hash will contain specific information and data about the
secret itself. As a result, the receiving party can even be further convinced that the ciphertext
they have received is the original one sent by the sending party.
 This is so because even if the ciphertext, the hash and the associated secret key were to be
intercepted, there is very little that a hacker can do to alter the ciphertext and its associated hash.
This is because they have to have the information and data about the secret key, which is of
course something they will never gain access to.

Sources

1. Cryptography Definition, Kaspersky Lab

2. A Brief History of Cryptography, Red Hat
3. Cryptography Interview Questions & Answers, All About Testing
4. Fundamentals of Cryptography: Algorithms, and Security Services, Northeastern University
5. Cryptographic algorithms, Bart Preneel
6. William Stallings, Cryptography and Network Information, Prentice Hall
7. Dorothy Denning, Cryptography and Data Security, Purdue University
8. J.F. Kurose & K.W. Ross, “Computer Networking: A Top Down Approach,” Pearson Education
Group, 2008 p. 683