EXAM POINTERS

DOMAIN 3
SECURITY ARCHITECTURE AND
ENGINEERING

ABHISHEK JHA
CISSP CISA CDPSE CEH
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhishek-jha-b02a741aa/
 KEY CONCEPTS
Cryptography Goals Privacy , Authenticity, Integrity , Non-Repudiation
(PAIN)
Spoofing vs Masquerading is done post system compromise
Masquerading
Key Space Possible key values. 2n where n = bit size of key Eg 128 Bit
XOR (Exclusive OR) Returns a True value when only ONE of the input values is True
Nonce Unique Random Number
Initialization vector (IV) random bit string that is the same length as the block size
Zero-Knowledge Proof Showing proof of having knowledge without sharing it.
Split Knowledge SoD + Two person control
Work Function Time taken by brute force. Length of Key should be more than Work Func.
Transposition Ciphers rearrange the letters of a PT
Substitution Ciphers Replace each character or bit of PT with different character. Eg Caesar cipher
Use multiple alphabets in the same message to hinder decryption efforts.
Polyalphabetic
Eg Vigenère cipher
substitution ciphers
Protects from Frequency Analysis. Vulnerable to Period Analysis.
Period Analysis Examination of frequency based on the repeated use of the key
(aka Book Cipher). encryption key is as long as the message itself and is
Running Key Cipher
often chosen from a common book, newspaper, or magazine.
Operate on “chunks,” or blocks, of a message and encrypts entire block at the
Block Ciphers
same time. Used by most modern algorithms.
Operate on one character or bit of a message (or data stream) at a time.
Stream ciphers
Eg. One-Time Pad. Stream cipher has threat of data in memory buffer.
complicated relationship between the PT and the key
Confusion
Altering PT to get CT but Key cannot be predicted
Change in the plaintext results in multiple changes spread throughout the
Diffusion.
ciphertext.
Ephemeral Key Temporary Symmetric keys that exist only for a single session (used in TLS)
Collisions hash function produces the same value for two different PT
aka secret key cryptography and private key cryptography
Same key by both parties
Symmetric key Crypto
Key exchange - out-of-band
(PAIN)
Does not implement nonrepudiation
No. of Keys = n(n-1) / 2, n = no. of parties
aka Public key algorithms
Asymmetric Key each user has two keys: Public key (Shared) & Private key (Secret)
Crypto Key exchange - In-band exchange
(PAIN) Does not provide Privacy (Confidentiality)
No. of Keys = 2n, n = no. of parties
Similar to a collision BUT it is related to encryption
Key Clustering
Two different key produce same CT for a PT
H/W Security Modules A cryptoprocessor used to manage/store digital encryption keys
(HSMs) support faster digital signatures, improve authentication Eg TPM
Key Escrow Storing key at a trusted third party
HMAC – Hashed Hashing + Symmetric Key. Provides Integrity and partial authenticity. No
Message nonrepudiation if the secret key is leaked.
Authentication Code
Pretty Good Privacy For Email Security. Two Versions – Commercial (Symantec) & Open source
(PGP) OpenPGP. Used IDEA Algo
Secure/Multipurpose Standard for encrypted email.
Internet Mail Uses the RSA.
Extensions (S/MIME) Relies on X.509 Certificates (Digital Certificates) for key exchange.
Link encryption – Entire Circuit (At Lower layer of OSI Layer)
Circuit Encryption
End-to-end encryption – Payload only (At Higher layer of OSI)
2 Modes- Transport (End-to-End-Payload Only) & Tunnel (Entire Packet)
Authentication Header (AH)-No Confidentiality BUT prevents replay attacks.
IPsec Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP)-Provides encryption and limited
authentication and prevents replay attacks.
Security Association (SA) –Unicast & Simplex comn from each node
Transitive Trust A=B=C then A=C
Transitive Trust Bypassing of restrictions or limitations between A and C
Exploitation
Confinement (sandboxing) Restricting a Process to Read & Write to specific Memory area
Bounds Area of memory bounded by address which a process cannot exceed
Isolation Separating two process to not to interfere (Implemented by OS)
Degree of confidence in satisfaction of security needs. Assurance must be
Assurance
continually maintained, updated, and re-verified.
Certification Comprehensive evaluation of security features of an IT system
A formal declaration by the designated Approval Authority that an IT system
Accreditation
is approved to operate in a particular security mode
Often an iterative proces
State Machine Model System is secure irrespective of state
Information Flow Model prevents all unauthorized information flows
(Bell-La-Padula & Biba) between multilevel models
Machine Model
Noninterference Model Concerned with how the actions of a subject at
a higher security level affect the system state or
the actions of a subject at a lower security level
Simple property Reading Data
Star property Writing Data
No read up (simple property)
Bell-LaPadula Model No write down (star property)
Uses an access control matrix (discretionary property-need 2 know)
No read down (simple property)
Biba Model
No write up (star property)
Clark-Wilson Model Uses access triple control. Access controlled through CDI.
Brewer and Nash Model Protects from conflicts of interest (Used in Cloud).
(Chinese Wall)
Graham-Denning Model Secure creation and deletion of both subjects and objects.
Integrity model, focused on preventing interference
Sutherland Model
Only model to prevent Covert Channel attack
TOE - Target of Eval System to be tested
PP Provides customer desires, needs, and requirements:
Common Criteria Protection profile "What is wanted"
ST Indicates how the above will be satisfied by suppliers:
Security Target "What will be provided"
EAL1 Functionally tested
EAL2 Structurally tested
Evaluation Assurance Level EAL3 Methodically tested and checked
Father Son Mother EAL4 Methodically designed, tested, and reviewed
My Sweet Small Family EAL5 Semi formally designed and tested
EAL6 Semi formally verified, designed, and tested
EAL7 Formally verified, designed, and tested
Dedicated each user must have a security clearance for all info along
with Need to Know
System high each user must have a security clearance for all info but
Security modes
Need to Know on some
Compartmented each user must have a security clearance for all info but
only need approval to access some information
Multilevel Users have access to their respective level
Code objects that are sent from a server to a client to perform some action -
Applets
mini program
Combining records from one or more tables to produce potentially useful
information
Aggregation
Attacker might be able to take multiple pieces of seemingly innocuous
information, and combine them to infer something more dangerous
Combining several pieces of non-sensitive information to gain access to
Inference
information that should be classified at a higher level
Cross-site request forgery - Similar to XSS where the purpose is to trick the user or browser into
XSRF performing actions they had not intended or would not have authorized
 CRYPTOGRAPHIC - MODES
Modes Block / Stream I V Chaining Comments
ECB Block No No Static Key, Not Secure
CBC Block Yes Yes Error Propagation
CFB Stream Yes Yes Error Propagation , Stream version of CBC
OFB Stream Yes Yes No error propagation, Encrypted IV used as seed value
CTR Stream Yes No Parallel Encryption/Decryption, Helps in Parallel Computing
GCM Stream No No Same as CTR mode and adds data authenticity controls
CCM Block Yes No Combines confidentiality by CTR mode with a data
authenticity process by CBC-MAC.
*Five modes of DES – ECB, CBC, CFB, OFB, CTR

SYMMETRIC KEY CRYPTOGRAPHY

Block Key Secure Comments
DES 64 Bit-16 Round 56 + 8 (Parity) No 5 Modes: - ECB, CBC, CFB, OFB, CTR
3 DES 64 Bit 3 x 56 = 168 Only EEE3 3 variants:- EDE1, EEE2, EDE2, EEE-3, EDE3
Effective 112 upto 2023
IDEA 64 Bit 128-bit Yes  5 Modes: - ECB, CBC, CFB, OFB, CTR
 used in PGP secure email package
Blowfish 64 Bit 32 – 448 Yes  SSH and TPM Chips
 Faster than both IDEA and DES
Skipjack 64 Bit 80 Yes  FIPS 140-2 (used by federal agencies)
 Key Escrow (NIST & Treasury)
RC4 Stream 40 – 2048 No WEP, WPA, SSL
RC5 32, 64,128 0 – 2040 No Brute-force cracking attempts
AES 128 Bit  128-Bit Yes, AES 256 for Data at Rest
10 rounds AES 256 TLS 1.2 or Higher for Data in Motion
 192- Bit
12 rounds
 256- Bit
14 rounds
Twofish 128 Bit 256–Bit Yes  Prewhitening – Add subkey to PT
 Postwhitening – Add subkey to CT

ASYMMETRIC KEY CRYPTOGRAPHY

Key Secure
RSA 1024 Bits factoring the Yes Worldwide Standard for asymmetric key
Now product of
4096 Bits large prime
numbers
Elliptic 256 bits elliptic curve Yes  Q = xP, hard to find x, even if P and Q are
curve discrete But Not Rec due already known
logarithm Implementation  More Secure than RSA
problem attacks  Used in Ransomware
ElGamal Extension of Yes  Advantages of ElGamal over the RSA –
Diffie– but Not patented
Hellman Not Rec  Disadvantage—Doubles the size of any
message that it encrypts. This presents a
major hardship when encrypting large
amounts of data that must be sent over a
network.
Diffie– Yes, only for  Not an encryption protocol in and of itself.
Hellman Key Exchange  It is technically a key exchange protocol
 Used in TLS (Known as DHE / EDH)
 HASH FUNCTIONS
MD2 – Not Secure 8 bit
MD4 – Not Secure 32 bit , 128 Bit
MD5 – Not Secure 512-bit - subject to collisions
SHA–0 – Not Secure Phased out, due collision
SHA–1 – Not Secure 160 Bit - not considered safe against well funded
attackers
SHA–2 – Secure 512 or 1024 bits

SHA–3 – Secure slower than SHA-2, so SHA-3 is not commonly used

RIPEMD-160 & RIPEMD-320 – Secure

*SHA–2 and SHA–3 are most recommended

CRYPTOGRAPHIC ATTACKS
Analytic Attack Focus on the logic of the algorithm itself
Implementation Attack Exploits weaknesses in the implementation of a cryptography system.
Statistical Attack - Exploits statistical weaknesses in a cryptosystem, such as floating-point
errors and inability to produce truly random numbers. Attempt to find a
vulnerability in the HW or OS hosting the cryptography application
Brute-Force Attack attempts every possible valid combination for a key or password
Fault Injection Attack Attempts to compromise the integrity of a cryptographic device by causing
some type of external fault. For example, they might use high-voltage
electricity, high or low temperature
Side-Channel Attack Characteristic footprints of activity, such as changes in processor
utilization, power consumption, or electromagnetic radiation. Monitor
system activity and retrieve information that is actively being encrypted
Timing Attack Example of a side-channel attack. Attacker measures precisely how long
cryptographic operations take to complete, gaining information about the
cryptographic process that may be used to undermine its security.
Frequency Analysis & Most frequently appearing letters Eg. E, T, A, I, O, N
Ciphertext-Only Attack
Chosen Plaintext Attacker has CT against chosen PT and tries determining key.
Differential cryptanalysis is a type of chosen plaintext attack.
Chosen Ciphertext Attacker has the ability to decrypt chosen portions of the CT and use the
decrypted portion of the message to discover the key.
Meet in the Middle Against algorithm using two or more rounds of encryption. Eg - 3 DES
Replay attack When Ephermal key is not secured and leaked

DIGITAL CERTIFICATES (X.509)

Certificate Chaining use of a series of intermediate CAs in the CA trust
model
Registration Authorities (RAs) Only verifies applicant but does not issue Certificate
Certificate Signing Request (CSR) Providing our Public Key to CA post Identity verification
Extended Validation (EV) CA verifies legitimacy of business also.
Certificate Revocation List (CRL) List of revoked certificates (maintained by CA)
Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) real-time certificate verification (Huge request is an
issue)
Certificate Stapling Time duration based Cert validation allotted to server
itself
Certificate Pinning Instruct browsers to attach a certificate to a subject for
an extended period of time.
 FIRE
Fire extinguisher CLASS of FIRE FUEL Extinguishing Media
classes Class A Common combustibles Water, soda acid
Class B Liquids CO2, halon, soda acid
Class C Electrical CO2, halon
Class D Metal Dry powder
Class K Kitchen (for grease fires, CO2, halon
like B)

Water suppression Wet pipe - Always full of water

systems Dry pipe - Air escapes opening a water valve
Deluge - A form of dry pipe that uses larger pipes
Preaction - Combination of dry and wet pipe, system is dry until
initial stages of fire when pipes are filled with water. Water is only
released after sprinkler head activation triggers are melted by heat.

* Most appropriate water-based system for environments with both humans and
computers - PREACTION