Episode 12 | Mastering Cryptography: From Ancient Ciphers to Modern Cybersecurity | BCIS 4342

In Episode 12 of BCIS 4342: Ethical Hacking & Network Defense, we dive deep into the fascinating world of cryptography—the science and art of securing data from prying eyes. Drawing from Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense (3rd ed.) by Simpson & Antill, this episode traces cryptography’s journey from ancient substitution ciphers to today’s advanced symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, public key infrastructure (PKI), and hashing techniques. We explore the building blocks of secure communication, unpack the differences between stream and block ciphers, examine well-known encryption standards like DES, AES, and Blowfish, and demystify public/private key pairs with RSA, Diffie-Hellman, ECC, and ElGamal. You’ll also learn about digital signatures, hashing algorithms (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, SHA-3), and the critical role of PKI in authentication and trust. Finally, we expose common cryptography attacks—brute force, man-in-the-middle, replay, dictionary, SSL/TLS downgrade—and discuss defenses every security professional must know. Produced by Dr. Joseph H. Schuessler of Tarleton State University’s Dr. Sam Pack College of Business, this episode was created using Google’s Notebook LM. 🎓 Topics Covered: -History and evolution of cryptography -Symmetric vs. asymmetric encryption (advantages & disadvantages) -PKI, certificates, and digital signatures -Hashing algorithms and data integrity -Brute-force, MITM, dictionary, and replay attacks -Cryptography best practices for ethical hackers 💬 Interactive Learning Opportunities: For a more interactive and enriching experience, where you can explore the content and ask the hosts real-time questions, visit the Notebook LM version of this episode: 🔗 Notebook LM – Episode 12: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/794d6404-c313-4036-8a55-da5497407dee?artifactId=2b424287-8629-4422-8d0b-57b07a06f9b4 You can also engage with the course-specific ChatGPT to ask broader questions about the course and its contents: 🔗 BCIS 4342 ChatGPT Assistant: https://chatgpt.com/g/g-689f35be42f48191bafd9d30b7773e4d-bcis-4342-ethical-hacking-network-defense 📌 Explore the Full Podcast Series: 🔹 BCIS 4342: Ethical Hacking & Network Defense: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRU5YMNncPaqUbrPJXlS1t1YIOOIbwwCm 🔹 BCIS 4385: Professional Development: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRU5YMNncPaoAwoqSwmq31zsaGfrO4Ccf 🔹 BCIS 5381: Strategic Information Systems: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRU5YMNncPapn9n2zZADyFfd7gVzObR47 🔹 BCIS 5311: Managing Information Systems: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRU5YMNncPao1pWRF6ex7v-RP1poESe1M 🔹 BCIS 5304: Telecommunications for Managers: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRU5YMNncPaoy3e1zL4qrfOhqGsnuzJ7T Discussion Question: In your opinion, which is the greater threat to cryptographic systems today—mathematical breakthroughs or implementation flaws? Why? 👍 Like | 🔁 Share | 🔔 Subscribe for more cutting-edge insights into ethical hacking and network defense.