Playfair cipher was a revolutionary approach of its times. It solved issues with existing approaches and ensured that regular frequency distribution of the English language would not work as a valid cryptanalysis approach.
2025-03-13 02:21:29
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School of Computing and Engineering
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Cyber Security - Assignment
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Title
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Assignment
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Module
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Cyber Security
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Module Code
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CP60059E
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Module Leader:
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Set by:
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Moderated by:
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Assignment
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Assignment
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Hand in arrangements
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This assignment will be submitted via Turnitin.
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Structure of assignment
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The assessment consists of a portfolio of 2 elements. Each Element has a specific weighting, and its own criteria. The assessment is described below. The learning outcomes of the module are assessed by a successful completion of the whole portfolio.
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Assessment
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Type
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Weighting
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Week due
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1
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Assignment 1
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50%
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(wk8) 3rd April 2025
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2
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Assignment 2
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50%
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(wk12) 8th May 2025
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Learning outcomes
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1
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Understand the essential concepts and critically evaluate mechanisms and processes involved in securing information in an enterprise system environment.
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2
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Demonstrate expertise in understanding and independent application of encryption/decryption algorithms and design encryption/decryption algorithms
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3
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Analyse and apply knowledge and skills to investigate and protect against specific security threats.
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The learning outcomes of the module are assessed by the successful completion of all assessments
Assessment 1: Assignment Weighting:
50%
Word Count: 2000 – 2500
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Title
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Assessment 1
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Task details
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Playfair cipher was a revolutionary approach of its times. It solved issues with existing approaches and ensured that regular frequency distribution of the English language would not work as a valid cryptanalysis approach. Playfair cipher only uses 25 alphabets in its key and this is one of its main limitations.
Consider that you are one of the developers at an organization. Your organization is committed to the use of Playfair cipher. They want to use this algorithm to encrypt all passwords that are being shared among systems. You are expected to ensure that you can make this algorithm work. Keep this in mind that Playfair cipher only uses alphabets whereas, a password should have symbols.
In this assignment, you are expected to explain the following:
- What is Playfair cipher
- How the conventional algorithm works
- Changes you propose to this algorithm
- Benefits that you gain from these changes
- Encryption and decryption based on this new variation
- What are the weaknesses of this new approach
Explain each step and make sure that you explain things in a way that your document can be used to explain the concept to a person new to the logic.
Note: Your assignment must be submitted as a single PDF report.
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Marking Guide
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Criteria
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Issues
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Marks
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Background
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What is encryption and what is the rationale behind Playfair cipher?
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5
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Explanation of the current
algorithm
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How Playfair cipher works
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10
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Proposed
changes and encryption
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What are the proposed changes and how does the encryption work? Explain all steps
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15
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Decryption algorithm
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Explain the decryption process
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10
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Potential weaknesses of the algorithm
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What are the potential weaknesses in the algorithm
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10
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Total
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50
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Assessment 2: Assignment Weighting:
50%
Word Count: 2000 - 2500
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Overall Description
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Title
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Mobile application security
Due to the increasing use of mobile devices for everyday tasks, the security of mobile applications has become a significant challenge within cyber security. For this assignment you are required to do the following:
3. A reflective summary of the current threat landscape for mobile applications 4. Present an in-depth study of a specific mobile application threat (for our chosen platform) aided by evidence of experimentation
- Basic description of the threat and its significance for mobile applications
- Experimentation to simulate the threat
- Recommended protection mechanism for the threat
Note: Due to the availability of multiple mobile application platforms, the choice of mobile platforms such as iOS, android, windows, and blackberry is your choice.
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Marking Grid
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Criteria
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Issues
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Mark
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Reflective summary of current threat
landscape
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Significance of threats for mobile application (5 marks)
A reflective insight into the current threats for mobile applications (5 marks)
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10
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In depth study of a mobile application
threat
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Basic description of the threat and its significance for mobile applications (5 marks)
Detailed description of how to set up an environment to test mobile applications for security vulnerabilities (10 marks) Experimentation to simulate the threat accompanied by appropriate illustration (10 marks)
Recommended protection mechanism for the threat including a step-by-step illustration of the process to implement the protection (10 marks)
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35
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Organization and Documentation
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Have references and citations from various sources been used appropriately Logical and fluent organization of content Presentation (layout, use of sections, headings, diagrams, contents list, etc.)
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5
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