ABSTRACT
Computer
security is a process of protecting computer system and information from harm and unauthorized use.
The most important security tool beyond human integrity used is cryptography.
Cryptography is used to hide data from public view and to ensure that the
integrity and privacy of any data sent across a network has not been
compromised. This project work helps you to understand what cryptography is all
about and the procedures used to achieve this aim, it explains the design and
implementation of computer security: data encryption and decryption and key
hash algorithm. The programming language used in the development of this
project is Microsoft Visual basic. In this project the researcher achieved all
she has in mind in designing this program by making sure that the integrity and
the privacy of an individual is not compromise. In conclusion, security in
communication and network system have come a long way to ensure that
information transmitted between two or more parities involved in a conversation
enjoys the benefits of privacy. the researcher suggested that developers and
engineers need to research more on computer security in order to provide a
stronger security unit on information and data.
CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In the past, security was
simply a matter of locking the door or storing files in a locked filing cabinet
or safe. Today, paper is no longer the only medium of choice for housing
information. Files are stored in computer databases as well as file cabinets.
Hard drives and floppy disks hold many of our secret information..
In the physical world,
security is a fairly simple concept. If the locks on your house’s doors and
windows are so strong that a thief cannot break in to steal your belongings,
the house is secure. For further protection against intruders breaking through
the locks, you might have security alarms. Similarly, if someone tries to
fraudulently withdraw money from your bank account but the teller asks for
identification and does not trust the thief’s story, your money is secure. When
you sign a contract with another person, the signatures are the legal driving
force that impels both parties to honor their word.
In the digital world, security works in a similar way. One concept is privacy, meaning that no one can
break into files to read your sensitive data (such as medical records) or steal
money (by, for example, obtaining credit card numbers or online brokerage
accounts information). Privacy is the lock on the door. Another concept, data integrity, refers to a mechanism
that tells us when something has been altered. That’s the alarm. By applying
the practice of authentication, we
can verify identities. That’s comparable to the ID required to withdraw money
from a bank account (or conduct a transaction with an online broker). And
finally, non repudiation is a
legal driving force that impels people to honor their word.
As the Internet becomes a more pervasive part of daily life, the need for
e-security becomes even more critical. Any organization engaged in online
activity must assess and manage the e-security risks associated with this
activity. Effective use of cryptographic techniques is at the core of many of
these risk-management strategies. The most important security tool is
cryptography.
1.1
BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
Before the modern era,
cryptography was concerned solely with message confidentiality (i.e.,
encryption) — conversion of messages from a comprehensible form into an
incomprehensible one, and back again at the other end, rendering it unreadable
by interceptors or eavesdroppers without secret knowledge (namely, the key
needed for decryption of that message). In recent decades, the field has
expanded beyond confidentiality concerns to include techniques for message
integrity checking, sender/receiver identity authentication, digital
signatures, interactive proofs, and secure computation, amongst others.
Encryption attempts to
ensure secrecy in communications, such as those of spies, military leaders, and
diplomats, but it have also had religious applications.
Steganography (i.e.,
hiding even the existence of a message so as to keep it confidential) was also
first developed in ancient times. An early example, from Herodotus, concealed a
message - a tattoo on a slave's shaved head - under the regrown hair. More
modern examples of steganographyk include the use of invisible ink, microdots,
and digital watermarks to conceal information.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The problem is security. The password method used in almost all
commercial operating systems is probably not very strong against a sophisticated
or unsophisticated attacker. The choice of data encryption comes next in the
minds of those that want reduction of unauthorized access on confidential files
or data.
Security provided by the
computer operating systems come with a preset super user account and password.
The super user may have a password to control network functionality, another to
conduct or access nightly backups, create accounts, and so on. For a cracker,
logging on to a system as the super user is possibly the best way to collect
data or do damage. If the super user has not changed an operating system’s
preprogrammed passwords, the network is vulnerable to attack. Most crackers
know these passwords, and their first attempt to break into a network is simply
to try them. If an attacker cannot log on as the super user, the next best
thing might be to figure out the user name and password of a regular user. It
is used to be standard practice in most Universities and colleges, and in some
commercial companies, to assign every student or employee an account with user
name and initial password – the password being the user name. Everyone was
instructed to log on and change the password, but often, hackers and crackers
logged on before legitimate users had a chance.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
a. To understand and improve
the computer data security through encryption of data.
b. To provide a means of safeguarding data in a system
c. To enhance the integrity
of data
d. To facilitate the use of
more sopheasted tool against hacking, cracking, bugging of a system.
e. To develop a platform to
complement physical security.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Data security in these contemporary times is a must. For your secrets to
be secure, it may be necessary to add protections not provided by your computer
operating systems. The built-in protections may be adequate in some cases. If
no one ever tries to break into or steal data from a particular computer, its
data will be safe. Or if the intruder has not learned how to get around the
simple default mechanisms, they’re sufficient. But many attackers do have the
skills and resources to break various security systems. If you decide to do
nothing and hope that no skilled cracker targets your information, you may get
lucky, and nothing bad will happen.
One of the most important tools for protecting your data from an
authorized access is Data Encryption, any of various methods that are used to
turn readable files into gibberish. Even if an attacker obtains the contents of
the file, it is gibberish. It does not matter whether or not the operating
system protections worked.
1.5
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Technology constraint: The problem encountered
here is searching information about computer security through Data Encryption
and Key Hash Algorithm and another problem is since the secret key has to be
send to the receiver of the encrypted data, it is hard to securely pass the key
over the network to the receiver.
Time constraint: the time giving for the
submission of this project work was not really enough for the researcher to
extensively carry out more research on this work.
Financial constraint: there was not enough
money to extensively carry out this work.
1.6
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Computer Security has been defined as the art of protecting computer
system and information from harm and unauthorized use .the most important
security tool beyond human integrity used is cryptography. Which is used to
hide data from public view and to ensure that the integrity and privacy of any
data sent across a network is not compromised. cryptography involves encryption
and decryption process .the scope of this study covers the message security
,message integrity, user authentication and key management of messages.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS
SECURITY: The set of accesses
controls and permission that are used to determine if a server can grant a
request for a service or resource from a client.
PASSWORD: An identity that defines an
authorized user of a computer in order to access to the system.
SOFTWARE: A collection of computer
programs that runs as a group to accomplish a set of objectives which could be
referred to as job.
SYSTEM: An organized unit which
composed of two or more inter related parts that functions together to achieve
a particular goal.
ENCRYPTION: The process of converting
ordinary information (plaintext) into unintelligible gibberish (that is, cipher
text).
DECRYPTION: The reverse, moving from
unintelligible cipher text to plain text.
ALOGRITM: This is a sequential way
of solving a problem.
CRYPTOGRAPHY:
This is
used to hide data from public view and to ensure that the integrity and privacy
of any data sent across a network has not been compromised.
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