Cryptography - CISSP

mkohi

Hi everyone,
I'm planning on taking the CISSP exam sometime soon, currently I'm studying from the Sybex Official Study Guide 7th edition. My questions pertains to Cryptography, how deep should I study for this section? I don't want to get into the weeds if I don't have to. What are your thoughts?

Thanks

gespenstern

Precise math isn't needed, i.e. you don't have to remember and understand all the depth behind what's happening inside of AES rounds. But knowing what which round does on a high level with the data being encrypted, how encryption key gets derived, what are key sizes and on which mathematical phenomenon this or that encryption is based on -- is something that could be asked on exam.

cbkihong

Also, attacks on cryptographic systems. No need to understand the deep inner workings, but need to know which kind of attack targets what kind of cryptographic system and have a brief idea of why that is so. Also you need to be familiar with PKI and things around it.

laurieH

As mentioned - its the principles and general working knowledge that is more important than the implementation. Make sure you know how symmetric and asymmetric cryptography differs and the strengths and weaknesses. General principles such as Kerchoff's Principle are also important to know.