Glossary of Terms

Cryptanalysis Techniques

Keyword Definition
Account Lockout A security feature that locks a user's account after a specified number of failed authentication attempts.
Brute Force A method used in cryptography to try all possible combinations until the correct one is found
Ciphertext The encrypted form of a plaintext message
Cryptanalysis The study of analyzing and breaking encryption schemes
Dictionary Attack A method of attempting to gain unauthorized access to a system by systematically attempting all possible combinations of words from a dictionary as passwords.
Encryption The process of converting plaintext into ciphertext in order to protect data
Frequency Analysis A technique used in cryptanalysis to analyze the frequency of letters or symbols in a ciphertext
Known Plaintext A type of attack where the cryptanalyst has access to both the plaintext and its corresponding ciphertext
Password Cracking The process of recovering passwords from data that has been stored or transmitted in an encrypted or hashed form.
Password Strength A measure of the effectiveness of a password in resisting unauthorized access.
Rainbow Table A precomputed table used in password cracking to reverse cryptographic hash functions and quickly determine the original password.
Substitution Cipher A type of encryption where each letter in the plaintext is replaced by a different letter or symbol
Transposition Cipher A type of encryption where the order of letters in the plaintext is rearranged
Two-Factor Authentication A security mechanism that requires users to provide two different types of evidence before granting access to a system.