Symmetric Key Algorithms
You already learned about symmetric key ciphers and the major issue with symmetric keys. Read the section in this article on symmetric key encryptions to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of symmetric keys. There is more information about symmetric key ciphers in this article that will be covered in more detail later in this unit, but this article will give you a preview of 3DES, IDEA, and AES ciphers. View the flashcard tool as well to better understand and to learn the terms used in cryptography such as plaintext, ciphertext, key, encryption, decryption, countermeasure, symmetric key encryption, and block cipher.
8. Pseudorandom Number Generation
Random numbers are difficult to produce in computer systems since the numbers are usually generated by an algorithm. Pseudorandom numbers are generated by using random input variables such as keystrokes, voltage, and other varying information, and if they appear to be statistically random, then they are accepted as being random. A common hardware solution using pseudorandom number generation is the Trusted Platform Module chip which securely stores cryptographic keys used by the system.