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Difficulty: MediumCryptographic Concepts and Algorithms

A security analyst is reviewing modern cryptographic primitives and key management practices for an enterprise application architecture. Match each cryptographic technique on the left with its primary security objective or operational implementation on the right.

  • Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman (ECDHE)Generates temporary session keys to guarantee perfect forward secrecy even if long-term private keys are later compromised.
  • Key Stretching (PBKDF2)Applies thousands of iterative hashing loops to increase the computational time required for offline brute-force cracking.
  • Authenticated Encryption (AES-GCM)Simultaneously provides message confidentiality and integrity verification within a single operational mode.
  • Salted Hashing (SHA-256 with unique salt)Neutralizes precomputed rainbow table lookup attacks against stored password hashes.

Answer

Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman matches with generating temporary session keys for perfect forward secrecy. Key Stretching matches with applying thousands of iterative hashing loops to slow down offline brute-force cracking. Authenticated Encryption matches with simultaneously providing confidentiality and integrity verification. Salted Hashing matches with neutralizing precomputed rainbow table lookup attacks.
Each cryptographic primitive directly fulfills its stated security goal: Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman provides forward secrecy through disposable session keys; Key Stretching delays offline password cracking via iteration counts; AES-GCM delivers both confidentiality and tamper detection; and Salting eliminates precomputed hash lookup tables.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze key exchange mechanism requirements for session key protection.
Identify Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman (ECDHE) as the mechanism providing perfect forward secrecy through temporary key generation.
Ephemeral keys are discarded after session closure, preventing retrospective decryption.
2
Evaluate password resistance algorithms against offline dictionary attacks.
Map Key Stretching (PBKDF2) to iterative computational delay function.
Slowing down compute time per guess mitigates high-speed automated password cracking.
3
Examine symmetric cipher modes combining dual security functions.
Associate AES-GCM with Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD).
AES-GCM encrypts data while generating an authentication tag to prevent tampering.
4
Identify anti-precomputation controls for stored password databases.
Match unique cryptographic salt added to hash inputs with rainbow table defense.
Salting forces attackers to recompute hashes individually for each targeted account.

Key Concept

Cryptographic Concepts and Algorithms
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Cryptographic Concepts and Algorithms

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