CompTIA Security+ Exam Prep

Category - Engineering

For a cipher to be strong and avoid being broken, two elements must be a part of the encryption. Which attribute causes a single plaintext bit to have influence over several other ciphertext bits?
  1. Diffusion
  2. Confusion
  3. Boxing
  4. Blocking
Explanation
Answer: A - Diffusion is the attribute that causes a single plaintext bit to have influence over several other ciphertext bits. In algorithms, diffusion takes place as individual bits of a block are scrambles, or diffused through that block. Changing a plaintext value should change many ciphertext values, not just one. In a strong cipher block, any ciphertext bit altered will change up to 50 percent of the rest. Confusion, the second need attribute, is commonly carried out through substitution. Each ciphertext value should depend upon several parts of the key, but this mapping between the key values and the ciphertext values should seem completely random to the observer.
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