CISSP Training Guide

Cryptographic Concepts, Methodologies, and Practices

Compare and contrast symmetric and asymmetric algorithms.

As previously discussed, cryptography has several properties and no single technique can achieve them all. By putting various different pieces together, you can achieve a strong robust solution. When talking about cryptography, the following basic terms need to be defined:

• Plain text— A message in its original form. Remember that any type of message can be encrypted. So even though the word has text in its name, plaintext is really a generic term and can refer to an executable, a zipped file, a word-processor document, a spreadsheet, or any type of information you would want to keep protected and secure. This is the data before anything ...