CRYPTOGRAPHY

• Cryptography is a method of securing data from

unauthorized access. In the blockchain, cryptography is used
to secure transactions taking place between two nodes in a
blockchain network. As discussed above, in a blockchain
there are two main concepts cryptography and hashing.
Cryptography is used to encrypt messages in a P2P network
and hashing is used to secure the block information and
the link blocks in a blockchain.
• Cryptography primarily focuses on ensuring the security of
participants, transactions, and safeguards against double-
spending. It helps in securing different transactions on the
blockchain network. It ensures that only the individuals for
whom the transaction data is intended can obtain, read and
process the transaction
Terminologies related to Cryptography
Cryptography is a technique or a set of protocols that secure
information from any third party during a process of communication.
It is also made up of two Greek terms, Kryptos term meaning
“hidden” and Graphein, a term meaning “to write”.
Some terminologies related to Cryptography:
• Encryption: Conversion of normal text to a random sequence of bits.
• Key: Some amount of information is required to get the information
of the cryptographic algorithm.
• Decryption: The inverse process of encryption, conversion of a
Random sequence of bits to plaintext.
• Cipher: The mathematical function, i.e. a cryptographic algorithm
which is used to convert plaintext to ciphertext(Random sequence of
bits).
 Types of Cryptography

The three types of cryptography are:

• Symmetric-key cryptography.
• Asymmetric-key cryptography.
• Hash Functions
 Symmetric-key Encryption
• It focuses on a similar key for encryption as well as decryption. Most
importantly, the symmetric key encryption method is also applicable
to secure website connections or encryption of data. It is also
referred to as secret-key cryptography. The only problem is that the
sender and receiver exchange keys in a secure manner. The popular
symmetric-key cryptography system is Data Encryption System(DES).
The cryptographic algorithm utilizes the key in a cipher to encrypt
the data and the data must be accessed. A person entrusted with the
secret key can decrypt the data. Examples: AES, DES, etc.
Features:
• It is also known as Secret key cryptography.
• Both parties have the same key to keeping secrets.
• It is suited for bulk encryptions.
• It requires less computational power and faster transfer.
 Asymmetric-key Encryption
• This cryptographic method uses different keys for the encryption and
decryption process. This encryption method uses public and private
key methods. This public key method help completely unknown
parties to share information between them like email id. private key
helps to decrypt the messages and it also helps in the verification of
the digital signature. The mathematical relation between the keys is
that the private key cannot be derived from the public key, but the
public key can be derived from the private key. Example: ECC,DSS etc.
Features:
• It is also known as Public-key cryptography.
• It is often used for sharing secret keys of symmetric cryptography.
• It requires a long processing time for execution.
• Plays a significant role in website server authenticity.
 Hash Functions

There is no usage of any key in this algorithm.

A hash value with a fixed length is calculated
as per the plain text which makes it impossible
for the contents of plain text to be recovered.
Many operating systems use hash functions to
encrypt passwords
 Cryptographic Primitives
• Blockchain is a distributed, decentralized
ledger. It comprises blocks connected to one
another. Each block comprises information
such as transactions and a unique hash. The
medium of exchange in Blockchain is
cryptocurrency or crypto
 What are Cryptographic Primitives?

• In Blockchains, there are no third parties or Governments

involved. It is fully decentralized and various transactions
happen in these networks. So security is of utmost
importance in Blockchain.
• Cryptographic primitives are used for building
cryptographic protocols for a strong secured network.
They are the low-level algorithms that are used to build
algorithms. They are the basic building blocks of the
cryptosystem. The programmers develop new
cryptographic algorithms with the help of cryptographic
primitives
 Types of Cryptographic Primitives

• One way Hash Functions: It is a mathematical function used to encrypt

variable length data to fixed binary data. It is a one-way function. It means
that once the input has been converted to a binary sequence, there is no
scope for reverting back. It is also known as fingerprint or compression
function. It is to be noted that a slight change in input can also change the
hash function. This is known as the avalanche effect. A popular
hash function is SHA-256.
• Symmetric Key cryptography: This is also known as Symmetric Encryption.
Suppose a message is encrypted using a key. The message is now converted
to ciphertext which is readable but has no meaning. The same key is used to
decrypt the message. A key is a variable used to encrypt or decrypt a text. It
is basically used to ‘lock’ or ‘unlock’ data. In this cryptography, the key is
shared between two users. The sharing of keys is a problem. However, this
technique is faster than public-key cryptography. Examples are Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES) and the Data Encryption Standard (DES)
• Asymmetric key cryptography: It is also known as public key cryptography.
Since there is a problem with sharing keys in symmetric encryption, this
method is used. Here one key is public and another key is private. The
public key is used to encrypt or ‘lock’ data. The private key is only
accessible to the receiver. The receiver uses a private key to ‘unlock’ the
data. For example, Suppose Bob encrypts the data using the public key.
The public key is available to everyone but this key works in one way. The
receiver has the private key which works in one way and is used to decrypt
the message. Examples of public key algorithms are DSA and RSA
• Randomized Algorithms: These algorithms produce random ciphertexts
for encryption. The ciphertext is an encrypted text. It is very secure as
random texts are produced for encryption. It is impossible for hackers to
find various combinations of texts. It employs randomness as a logical part.
It uses random inputs and gives correct output. For Example, Monte Carlo
• Mix Network: It is a routing algorithm that uses public key
cryptography to encrypt data. The proxy servers take messages,
encrypt them and shuffle them so that communication cannot be
traced. It basically breaks the flow of messages between the
sender and the target.
• Retrieval of Private information: It is a protocol that allows the
user to retrieve information from the database. Other users don’t
get to know about it. The user can anonymously retrieve data
without taking permission.
• Initialization Vector: It is a number that is used along with a key
for encryption. It is used to prevent the duplicate generation of
ciphertext.
 Private Key & Public Key
• Private Key:
In the Private key, the same key (secret key) is used for
encryption and decryption. In this key is symmetric because
the only key is copied or shared by another party to decrypt
the cipher text. It is faster than public-key cryptography.
• Public Key:
In a Public key, two keys are used one key is used for
encryption and another key is used for decryption. One key
(public key) is used to encrypt the plain text to convert it
into cipher text and another key (private key) is used by the
receiver to decrypt the cipher text to read the message
Difference between Private Key and Public
Key
S.NO Private Key Public Key

1. The private key is faster than the public key. It is slower than a private key.

In public-key cryptography, two keys are

In this, the same key (secret key) and algorithm are used to encrypt
used, one key is used for encryption, and
and decrypt the message.
2. the other is used for decryption.
In public-key cryptography, one of the
In private key cryptography, the key is kept a secret.
3. two keys is kept a secret.
The public key is Asymmetrical because
The private key is Symmetrical because there is only one key that is
there are two types of keys: private and
called a secret key.
4. public keys.
In this cryptography, the sender and
In this cryptography, the sender and receiver need to share the same
receiver do not need to share the same
key.
5. key.
In this cryptography, the public key can
In this cryptography, the key is private.
6. be public and a private key is private.

7. It is an efficient technology. It is an inefficient technology.

8. It is used for large amounts of text. It is used for only short messages.
 It is used for large amounts of text. It is used for only short messages.
8.

There is the possibility of losing the key that There is less possibility of key loss, as the key
renders the systems void. is held publicly.
9.

The private key is to be shared between two

The public key can be used by anyone.
parties.
10.

The Performance testing checks the

The Load testing checks the sustainability of
reliability, scalability, and speed of the
the system.
system.
11.

The private key is used in algorithms such as The public key is used in algorithms such as
AES 128, AES 192 and AES 256. RSA, DSA, etc.
12.
13. The private key is kept secret. The public key is widely distributed.

It is used to protect disk drives and It is used to secure web sessions and
14. other data storage devices. emails.

The recipient’s private key decrypts the The recipient’s public key encrypts the
15. message. message.

If the private key is the locking key,

If the public key is the locking key, then it
then the system can be used to verify
can be used to send private
documents sent by the holder of the
communication.
16. private key.