Mewbyte - InfoSec Blog

  HMAC Algorithm in Computer Network HMAC algorithm   stands for Hashed or Hash based   Message Authentication Code . It is a result of work done on developing a MAC derived from cryptographic hash functions. HMAC is a great resistant towards cryptanalysis attacks as it uses the Hashing concept twice. HMAC consists of twin benefits of Hashing and MAC, and thus is more secure than any other authentication codes. RFC 2104 has issued HMAC, and HMAC has been made compulsory to implement in IP security. The FIPS 198 NIST standard has also issued HMAC. The Hash Function, HMAC is also aimed to be one way, i.e.  easy to generate output from input but complex the other way round. It aims at being less effected by collisions than the hash functions. HMAC reuses the algorithms like MD5 and SHA-1 and checks to replace the embedded hash functions with more secure hash functions, in case found. HMAC tries to handle the Keys in more simple manner. HMAC algorithm – The working of HM...

The meaning of the verb “to hash” – to chop or scramble something – provides a clue as to what hash functions do to data. That’s right, they “ scramble ” data and convert it into a numerical value. And no matter how long the input is,   the output value is always of the same length . Hash functions are also referred to as hashing algorithms or message digest functions. They are used across many areas of computer science, for example: To encrypt communication between web servers and browsers, and generate session IDs for internet applications and data caching To protect sensitive data such as passwords, web analytics, and payment details To add digital signatures to emails To locate identical or similar data sets via lookup functions  Definition A  hash function  converts strings of different length into fixed-length strings known as hash values or digests. You can use hashing to scramble passwords into strings of authorized characters for example. The output val...

  AES vs DES encryption algorithm What Is a Symmetric Block Cipher? An example of some of the components of a symmetric block cipher (symmetric encryption). To know what DES vs AES actually means, you first need to understand what a symmetric block cipher is. Also known as symmetric encryption algorithm, a block cipher is a cryptographic algorithm that turns plaintext data into encrypted text (also known as ciphertext). To give you an example, a block cipher might turn “Apple” into something like “2e$5kv7fg*=v#.” The transformation from plaintext to ciphertext is carried out using what’s known as a symmetric encryption key, which is a mathematical function. Basically, upon applying this key, the plaintext is turned into blocks of a certain size that are then encrypted. Because it’s a symmetric key, it can also decrypt the encrypted text, which reverts it to its original form. Modern block ciphers: Are fast and can process vast amounts of data.  Because they’re able to han...

  Types of Encryption: Symmetric vs Asymmetric Encryption What is Encryption and Why Is It Necessary? Encryption is the process of turning plaintext data into a scrambled format — so that no unauthorized entity can see what the original data was — through the use of a cryptographic key. But that’s not the only benefit of using different types of encryption — it can also help you to protect the integrity of your data, software, communications, and be compliant with some data security and privacy laws and regulations. Encryption is useful for protecting a variety of personally identifiable information (PII), financial data, intellectual property, and other proprietary information such as: Names Social security numbers Contact information Credit card information Financial account information Credentials Technical specs, research, and other sensitive data Regardless of which type of encryption you’re looking at, it’s going to require a digital key. A cryptographic key is a string of ra...