Lab: Asymmetric Encryption

Understanding asymmetric encryption and RSA practice

Part 1. Understanding Asymmetric Keys

  1. Key Exchange Problem.

    Imagine 200 people wish to communicate securely using symmetric keys, one symmetric key for each pair of people. (See Metcalf’s Law).

    Question : How many symmetric keys would this system use in total?

  2. RSA keys vs AES keys.

    Review keylength.com, which gives estimates for good key lengths.

    The below screenshot from the site shows example output comparing different organization recommendations specifying the date “2030”.

    Here are some tips for interpreting what is shown:

    • “Method”: The site lists key length recommendations from multiple organizations, including from NIST.
    • “Date” means how long you’ll be secure until, using the given algorithm-keylengths.
    • Key lengths for multiple cryptography algorithmic approaches and applications are shown.
      • “Symmetric” algorithms include AES.
      • “Factoring Modulus” applies to asymmetric algorithms such as RSA.
      • “Discrete Logarithm” refers to asymmetric algorithms such as Diffie Hellman (DH).
      • “Elliptic Curve” (EC) is a variant of Discrete Logarithm algorithms, and is therefore also an asymmetric algorithm. EC variants of DH exist.
      • “Hash” refers to algorithms such as the SHA family.
    Question : Does a 256-bit RSA key (a key with a 256-bit modulus) provide strength similar to that of a 256-bit AES key? Explain.

Part 2. Calculating RSA keys

To help you answer the following questions, view this “RSA Algorithm” video. Also, you can review the RSA wikipedia page example.

You can use a calculator such as WolframAlpha to help with this modular arithmetic. But you should understand the principles well enough to perform them by hand with simple problems.

  1. Use RSA to encrypt M=9 to cipertext and back again to plaintext using p=5, q=11, e=3. Show your work.

    Question : What is the ciphertext C when using RSA to encrypt M=9 with p=5, q=11, e=3?
    Question : Show your work both for encrypting the message (M=>C), and also for decrypting the message back (C=>M)

  2. You are Eve. In a public-key system using RSA, you intercept the ciphertext C=10 sent to a user whose public key is e=5, n=35. Decrypt the cipertext.

    Question : What is the plaintext M given C=10, e=5, n=35?

Deliverable

Submit your answers for this lab by completing the associated lab quiz on your course’s learning management system.