Eccouncil 212-81 Exam - Topic 1 Question 71 Discussion

Output feedback (OFB)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_cipher_mode_of_operation#Output_feedback_(OFB)

The output feedback (OFB) mode makes a block cipher into a synchronous stream cipher. It generates keystream blocks, which are then XORed with the plaintext blocks to get the ciphertext. Just as with other stream ciphers, flipping a bit in the ciphertext produces a flipped bit in the plaintext at the same location. This property allows many error-correcting codes to function normally even when applied before encryption.

Incorrect answers:

Cipher feedback (CFB)- mode, a close relative of CBC, makes a block cipher into a self-synchronizing stream cipher.

Electronic codebook (ECB)- the simplest of the encryption modes (named after conventional physical codebooks). The message is divided into blocks, and each block is encrypted separately.

Cipher-block chaining (CBC)- Ehrsam, Meyer, Smith and Tuchman invented the cipher block chaining (CBC) mode of operation in 1976. In CBC mode, each block of plaintext is XORed with the previous ciphertext block before being encrypted. This way, each ciphertext block depends on all plaintext blocks processed up to that point. To make each message unique, an initialization vector must be used in the first block.