Encrypting Volumes And Connecting Computers Responses

Provide (2) 150 words substantive response with a minimum of 1 APA references for RESPONSES 1 AND 2 below. Response provided should further discuss the subject or provide more insight. To further understand the response, below is the discussion post that’s discusses the responses. 100% original work and not plagiarized. Must meet deadline. RESPONSE 1: Briefly summarize the history of RC4 and what it tells us about the development of secure encryption algorithms. Chapter 9 Section 2.2 The RC4 Story A man named Ron Rivest developed the stream cipher RC4 (otherwise known as Rivest Cipher 4 or Ron’s Code 4) algorithm in 1987. Even in 2021, older servers and wireless networks are still using RC4. RC4 was offered as a trade secret when introduced by Rivest, who at the time was the cofounder of the company RSA Data Security. This company was responsible to backing and marketing the algorithm. The RC4 was offered exclusively to venders who could pay a fee for the product but where restricted from extending this exclusivity to non-paying members. In being a “trade secret”, RC4 was never protected from patent protection rights. Meaning if someone outside of a lender paying a fee to use the algorithm were to get ahold of it independently, then Rivest is unprotected. During those years, the United States International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) considered encryptions as a threat to national security. Do not be alarmed however, because just a few years later not only did the National Security Agency allow the use of RC4, they also adopted Ron Rivest’s second block cipher creation known as RC2 on two conditions. Condition number one stated that secret contents of the secret key could not exceed 40 bits. Condition two stated that a trade secret algorithm had to remain if not a secret, then at least unpublished (Chap. 9 Sect. 2.2). In 1994, his algorithm was leaked anonymously to the “Cypherpunks” internet mailing list and from there it was history. Over the years, people are still in awe at its speed and simplicity. It tells us that both software and hardware are going to continue to develop more complicated and crack proof encryptions but maybe by the team we actually here about it, it would have been around and utilized by titan mogul companies for years. Anthony Resources Smith, R. E. (2016). Elementary information security, 2nd edition. Subury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. RESPONSE 2: In this week’s discussion we are talking about RC4 and the development of secure encryption algorithms, network attacks, and three techniques for transmitting information on communication networks. RC4 was created by an MIT professor named Ron Rivest in 1984 (Smith, 2016). It was created to protect messages to secure websites and it generated a key stream in 8-bit bytes (Smith, 2016). RC4 eventually was used with WEP in 1997 and WPA in 2003 and was used in these applications because of its simplicity and speed. The key size has also increased to 64 or 128 bit.                There are six types of network attacks. The first type of attack is physical theft. This occurs when network hardware like wires and hubs are physically stolen (Smith, 2016). The second type of attack is called subversion. This is when someone modifies the network in order to take over part of it (Smith, 2016). The third type of attack is called disclosure. This type of attack is when an attacker intercepts copies of network data which then can be used to discover secret information or two learn passwords or other data that will let the attacker gain even more access to the network (Smith, 2016). The fourth attack is called forgery. This attack allows someone to construct fake messages or modify legitimate ones as part of an attack (Smith, 2016). The fifth attack is called a masquerade. This attack is when a person tricks the network into sending messages claiming to be originated by someone else (Smith, 2016). The final attack is called a denial of service attack. This attack either restricts or completely blocks the use of the network by any users.                The first form of transmission by communication networks is called message switching. Message switching sends one single piece of information that is passed from one place to another until it reaches its destination (Smith, 2016). This type of transmission will deliver either the entire message or nothing at all. It also is limited by the size of information that it can send as well as longer delays in transmission (Smith, 2016). The second form of transmission is called circuit transmission. This type of transmission sends information as one steady stream from one point to another (Smith, 2016). This type of connection is almost instantaneous with very little delays in the transfer of information (Smith, 2016). The downside of this type of transmission is that one sender cannot send to another until they are done receiving a message from the other. Another issue is that if there are any delays in the transfer, the receiving person will not receive parts of the message. The final form of transmission is called packet switching. In packet transmissions, data is packed into packets (either single or several packets depending on the size of data) and transferred to another user. Once the data reaches the destination it is put back together so that the receiver gets the entire message. The disadvantages of packet transmission is that the receiver must have additional features to guarantee reliable transmissions (Smith, 2016). Another disadvantage is that packets travel at different speeds depending on size. -Ken Smith, R. E. (2016). Chp. 7 & 10. In Elementary Information Security (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning