Importance of memorizing block and key sizes

dkandl

So I am in a 2 week bootcamp now and taking my exam on Friday, I was wondering how important it is to memorize the key and block sizes and rounds for the encryption algorithms?

Are there any other details like those that you think are important to completely commit to memory?

I think I have the concepts down but I am struggling with things specific like those.

Thanks!

g33k3r

I haven't taken the exam yet, but can offer this advice which I've seen posted here before. Try to relax. Test anxiety can "lock" your brain as if you were on the game show Jeopardy. Take a few slow deep breaths when you feel tensed up and carry on

dustervoice

The CISSP is a high level/concepts exam as mentioned here a million times.. its not a test of memorization. hope this helps

gespenstern

It could be a decisive factor if you won't perform well everywhere else. I had some questions on key/block sizes and rounds. Moreover, I had a drag'n'drop question on right positioning of AES round phases. I bet not many people know this.

rjon17469

Will you get questions related to this topic? Possibly. Will you get a lot of questions on it? Probably not.

In my opinion, make sure you have the core knowledge down well first, as that will be tested repeatedly. Details such as this may earn you a few extra points, but chances are spending that study time on a more core concept will net you more points, unless you already have all the core stuff down.

aftereffector

What he said ^^^

It's certainly helpful to know that MD5 means 128, SHA-1 means 160, and DES is 56, but it's not worth trying to memorize every detail of two dozen algorithms at the expense of understanding the software development lifecycle or the differences between major security architecture frameworks.