212-81 ECCouncil EC-Council Certified Encryption Specialist (ECES) Free Practice Exam Questions (2025 Updated)

Explanation

Internet Key Exchange (IKE)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Key_Exchange

Internet Key Exchange (IKE, sometimes IKEv1 or IKEv2, depending on version) is the protocol used to set up a security association (SA) in the IPsec protocol suite. IKE builds upon the Oakley protocol and ISAKMP. IKE uses X.509 certificates for authentication ‒ either pre-shared or distributed using DNS (preferably with DNSSEC) ‒ and a Diffie–Hellman key exchange to set up a shared session secret from which cryptographic keys are derived.

AES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetric-key_algorithm

AES - symmetric cipher. Symmetric keys use the same key for both encryption and decryption. Both the sender and receiver of the data must know and share the secret key. For standard encrypt/decrypt functions, symmetric algorithms generally perform much faster than their asymmetrical counterparts. This is due to the fact that asymmetric cryptography is massively inefficient. Symmetric cryptography is designed precisely for the efficient processing of large volumes of data. In other words, symmetric encryption is generally used for speed and performance, e.g. when there's a large amount of data that needs to be encrypted/protected.

Fibonacci Sequence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number

In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers, commonly denoted Fn, form a sequence, called the Fibonacci sequence, such that each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, starting from 0 and 1. That is,

F0 = 0, F1=1, Fn = Fn-1 + Fn-2; for n > 1.

The beginning of the sequence is thus:

0,1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144…

3DES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_DES

Triple DES (3DES) has a three different keys with same size (56-bit).

Explanation

A collision

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collision_(computer_science)

A collision or clash is a situation that occurs when two distinct pieces of data have the same hash value, checksum, fingerprint, or cryptographic digest.

Explanation

Collision attacks try to find two inputs producing the same

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collision_attack

A collision attack on a cryptographic hash tries to find two inputs producing the same hash value, i.e. a hash collision. This is in contrast to a preimage attack where a specific target hash value is specified.

Explanation

Hashing algorithm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MD5

The MD5 message-digest algorithm is a widely used hash function producing a 128-bit hash value. Although MD5 was initially designed to be used as a cryptographic hash function, it has been found to suffer from extensive vulnerabilities. It can still be used as a checksum to verify data integrity, but only against unintentional corruption. It remains suitable for other non-cryptographic purposes, for example for determining the partition for a particular key in a partitioned database.

Explanation

128 bit and CCMP

Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol (CCMP) is an encryption protocol that forms part of the 802.11i standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), particularly those using WiMax technology. CCMP employs 128-bit keys and a 48-bit initialization vector that minimizes vulnerability to replay attacks.

Explanation

3DES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_DES

Triple DES (3DES or TDES), officially the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA or Triple DEA), is a symmetric-key block cipher, which applies the DES cipher algorithm three times to each data block.

Explanation

Speed

Symmetric key systems are considerably faster than asymmetric key systems but have issues with proper key distribution, controlling keys as more users need to communicate, and cannot provide non-repudiation or authenticity.

Explanation

Rail Fence Cipher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_fence_cipher

The rail fence cipher (also called a zigzag cipher) is a form of transposition cipher. It derives its name from the way in which it is encoded.

Explanation

X.509

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X.509

X.509 is a standard defining the format of public key certificates. X.509 certificates are used in many Internet protocols, including TLS/SSL, which is the basis for HTTPS, the secure protocol for browsing the web. They are also used in offline applications, like electronic signatures. An X.509 certificate contains a public key and an identity (a hostname, or an organization, or an individual), and is either signed by a certificate authority or self-signed. When a certificate is signed by a trusted certificate authority, or validated by other means, someone holding that certificate can rely on the public key it contains to establish secure communications with another party, or validate documents digitally signed by the corresponding private key.

PGP

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is an encryption program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication. PGP is used for signing, encrypting, and decrypting texts, e-mails, files, directories, and whole disk partitions and to increase the security of e-mail communications. Phil Zimmermann developed PGP in 1991.

ADFVGX Cipher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADFGVX_cipher

ADFGVX cipher was a field cipher used by the German Army on the Western Front during World War I. ADFGVX was in fact an extension of an earlier cipher called ADFGX.

Invented by Lieutenant Fritz Nebel (1891–1977) and introduced in March 1918, the cipher was a fractionating transposition cipher which combined a modified Polybius square with a single columnar transposition.

Explanation

Key escrow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_escrow

Key escrow (also known as a “fair” cryptosystem) is an arrangement in which the keys needed to decrypt encrypted data are held in escrow so that, under certain circumstances, an authorized third party may gain access to those keys. These third parties may include businesses, who may want access to employees' secure business-related communications, or governments, who may wish to be able to view the contents of encrypted communications (also known as exceptional access).

By substituting each letter for the letter from the opposite end of the alphabet (i.e. A becomes Z, B becomes Y, etc.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atbash

The Atbash cipher is a particular type of monoalphabetic cipher formed by taking the alphabet (or abjad, syllabary, etc.) and mapping it to its reverse, so that the first letter becomes the last letter, the second letter becomes the second to last letter, and so on.

Explanation

A fixed size random stream that is added to a block cipher to increase randomeness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_cipher_mode_of_operation#Initialization_vector_(IV)

An initialization vector (IV) or starting variable (SV) is a block of bits that is used by several modes to randomize the encryption and hence to produce distinct ciphertexts even if the same plaintext is encrypted multiple times, without the need for a slower re-keying process.

Explanation

Collision

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collision_(computer_science)

A collision or clash is a situation that occurs when two distinct pieces of data have the same hash value, checksum, fingerprint, or cryptographic digest.

Explanation

Salt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_(cryptography)

A salt is random data that is used as an additional input to a one-way function that hashes data, a password or passphrase. Salts are used to safeguard passwords in storage. Historically a password was stored in plaintext on a system, but over time additional safeguards were developed to protect a user's password against being read from the system. A salt is one of those methods.