Sometimes, when architecting the security of digital infrastructure, we put too much emphasis on the security of individual entities and don't pay the necessary attention to end-to-end security. This can result in us overlooking some loopholes and vulnerabilities in the system, which can later be exploited by hackers to access sensitive data. The important point to remember is that a digital infrastructure, as a whole, is only as strong as its weakest link. For a hacker, this weakest link can provide backdoor access to the sensitive data in the digital infrastructure. Beyond a certain point, there is not much benefit in fortifying the front door without closing all the back doors.

As the algorithms and techniques for keeping digital infrastructure become more and more sophisticated, attackers keep upgrading their techniques as well. It is always important to remember that one of the easiest ways for attackers to hack digital infrastructure is by exploiting these vulnerabilities to access sensitive information.

In this chapter, we will highlight the vulnerabilities of various encryption algorithms. 

Let's first look at the basic terminology used.