What is Passive Attack? | Types of security Attack in network security | What is cryptanalysis?

What is cryptographic Security Attack?

A cryptographic attack is a method for circumventing the security of a cryptographic system by finding a weakness in a code, cipher, cryptographic protocol or key management scheme. This process is also called "cryptanalysis".

Types of Security Attack in Cryptography

Figure: Classification of Security Attack in Cryptography

Passive Attack

Release of message content:

Figure shows the release of message content passive attack.

Figure: Release of Message Content (Passive Attack)

The goal of the attacker is to obtain information that is being transmitted. A telephonic conversation, an electronic mail message and a transferred file may contain sensitive or confidential information. In this type of passive attack, message cannot modify by attacker. Attacker just read the message and then release the message. There may be a delay to reach message at receiver end.

For example, B sent message to A, A receives message. But before receiving message, message was read by unauthorized person. This kind of passive attack cannot by recognize/identified during massage transmission. It does not affect the system, just monitor data in network.

 

Traffic Analysis:

Figure shows the traffic analysis attack.

Figure: Traffice Analysis (Passive Attack)

Intruders checks the contents of message or other information, even if they captured the message but could not extract the information from the message. The opponent might observe a pattern of message to get the location, or any clue regarding the origin of message. Passive attack is very difficult to detect, because they do not involve any alteration of the data.

For example, B sending message to A, at that time intruders check the pattern of message and also check that how many numbers of messages send by sender with same pattern.

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