Recognizing cryptographic attacks

We rely on cryptographic techniques and algorithms to secure our systems. However, we must be aware of the possibility of an attack on encryption protocols and techniques that can result in our data being compromised.

Over the years, there have been many documented attacks, some simple, some more complex. For example, early algorithms, such as mono-alphabetic ciphers, can easily be attacked using letter frequency analysis. However, as ciphers became more complex, the types of attacks also had to become more sophisticated.

In this section, we'll discuss brute-force, password, and Man-in-The-Middle (MiTM) attacks, along with a brief look at some less-known methods used to compromise a system. In addition, we'll discuss Kali Linux, a powerful suite of tools that can be used to attack cryptographic techniques. We'll also see how WEP, an early wireless encryption protocol, was a weak cipher that allowed a malicious actor to obtain...