112-51 · Question #42
Peter, a security professional, was hired by an organization and was instructed to secure the application and its content from unauthorized access. In this process, Peter implemented a public- key…
The correct answer is A. RSA. RSA is a public-key cryptosystem that uses modular arithmetic and elementary number theory for Internet encryption and user authentication. RSA stands for Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, the names of the inventors of the algorithm. RSA allows users to generate a pair of keys, one public…
Question
Peter, a security professional, was hired by an organization and was instructed to secure the application and its content from unauthorized access. In this process, Peter implemented a public- key cryptosystem that uses modular arithmetic and elementary number theory for Internet encryption and user authentication. Which of the following algorithms was employed by Peter in the above scenario?
Options
- ARSA
- BMD6
- CDSA
- DSHA-2
How the community answered
(35 responses)- A91% (32)
- B6% (2)
- D3% (1)
Explanation
RSA is a public-key cryptosystem that uses modular arithmetic and elementary number theory for Internet encryption and user authentication. RSA stands for Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, the names of the inventors of the algorithm. RSA allows users to generate a pair of keys, one public and one private, that are mathematically related. The public key can be used to encrypt messages or verify digital signatures, while the private key can be used to decrypt messages or create digital signatures. RSA is based on the difficulty of factoring large numbers, which makes it secure and
Topics
Community Discussion
5
Anjali D.Feb 13, 2026The answer here is A, RSA. RSA is the public-key cryptosystem built on modular arithmetic and number theory, specifically the difficulty of factoring large integers, and it is widely used for both Internet encryption and authentication, which matches the scenario exactly. MD6, DSA, and SHA-2 are either hash functions or a signature scheme that does not fit the full description given.
Dervla O.Mar 4, 2026Saw this exact stem, eliminated MD6 and SHA-2 first (hashing, not encryption), DSA signs but does not encrypt, RSA won.
Anjali D.Mar 5, 2026Solid process, and worth adding that RSA in this context almost certainly means RSA with PKCS#1 or OAEP padding, since raw RSA alone is textbook insecure and a lot of practice questions will try to trip you up on that distinction.
Marisol A.Feb 20, 2026RSA is the right call here. It is built entirely on modular arithmetic and the difficulty of factoring large prime products, which is exactly what makes it the go-to for both encryption and digital authentication over the Internet. MD6 and SHA-2 are hashing algorithms, not public-key cryptosystems, and DSA handles signatures only, not encryption.
Anjali D.Feb 21, 2026Marisol is right that DSA is signatures-only, but it is worth noting that RSA doing both encryption and signing is actually a point of caution, since the two use cases require different padding schemes and mixing them up has led to real-world vulnerabilities.