Here is a question bank covering the key concepts you are studying in Information Theory and
Cryptography:
### **Information Theory**
#### **1. Entropy**
- Define entropy in the context of information theory.
- How is Shannon's entropy calculated? Provide the formula and an example.
- Explain the significance of entropy in measuring uncertainty.
- Compare and contrast conditional entropy and joint entropy.
#### **2. Source Coding and Prefix Coding**
- What is the objective of source coding in information theory?
- Explain the prefix coding scheme with an example.
- Differentiate between fixed-length and variable-length codes.
- What are the properties of prefix codes? How do they ensure instantaneous decoding?
#### **3. Channel Capacity**
- Define channel capacity and its importance in information theory.
- Explain Shannon’s theorem on channel capacity.
- How does noise affect channel capacity?
#### **4. Compression Algorithms**
##### **Optimal Compression**
- What is meant by optimal compression? Provide an example of an algorithm.
##### **Huffman Coding**
- How does the Huffman coding algorithm work? Illustrate with an example.
- Why is Huffman coding optimal for lossless compression?
##### **Adaptive Huffman Compression**
- What is adaptive Huffman coding? How does it differ from static Huffman coding?
##### **Dictionary-Based Compression**
- Describe the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) compression algorithm.
- What are the advantages of dictionary-based compression over other techniques?
##### **Speech Compression**
- Explain the significance of speech compression and common techniques used in this domain.
#### **5. Error Control Coding Techniques**
##### **Types of Codes**
- What are linear block codes? Explain with an example.
- Differentiate between Hamming codes and cyclic codes.
##### **Methods for Error Checking and Correcting Codes**
- Explain how parity bits are used for error detection.
- Describe the process of error correction using Hamming codes.
- How do Reed-Solomon codes work for error correction?
### **Cryptographic Techniques**
#### **1. Security Goals**
- What are the primary goals of information security?
- Explain the concepts of confidentiality, integrity, and availability in cryptography.
#### **2. Threats and Attacks on Information**
- What are the most common types of cryptographic attacks?
- Differentiate between passive and active attacks.
- Explain how man-in-the-middle attacks are executed and how they can be prevented.
#### **3. Classic Cryptography**
- Explain the difference between classical and modern cryptography.
- Describe the Caesar cipher and its limitations.
#### **4. Symmetric Key Cryptography**
##### **Stream Ciphers**
- What is a stream cipher? Provide an example of one.
- How do stream ciphers differ from block ciphers?
##### **Block Ciphers**
- What is a block cipher? Explain its working with an example.
- Compare the modes of operation in block ciphers (e.g., ECB, CBC, CFB).
##### **DES and Triple DES**
- Explain the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Why is it considered insecure today?
- How does Triple DES improve upon DES?
#### **5. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)**
- Explain the structure and operation of AES.
- Why is AES considered more secure than DES?
#### **6. Public and Private Key Cryptography**
- What is the difference between symmetric and asymmetric cryptography?
- How does the RSA algorithm work? Provide its key steps.
- What is the significance of the Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm?
#### **7. Hash Functions**
##### **MD5 and SHA-1**
- Explain how MD5 works and its vulnerabilities.
- Compare MD5 and SHA-1. Why is SHA-1 preferred over MD5?
#### **8. Digital Signature**
- What is a digital signature? How does it ensure security in communications?
- Explain the role of digital signatures in public key infrastructure (PKI).
This question bank will help you reinforce and test your understanding of each topic for your exams!
