Cryptography & Network Security (CNS) important topics for AKTU – unit-wise
Topics are ranked by how many times AKTU asked them across 10 papers. Finish the "very likely" topics first, then the top topics of each unit.
High-probability Cryptography & Network Security topics
- IP Security (Unit 5: IP Security, Secure Transactions and System Security) – asked 11 times in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
- Classical Encryption Techniques (Unit 1: Security Foundations, Classical Encryption and Modern Block Ciphers) – asked 10 times in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026
- Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) (Unit 3: Message Authentication, Hash Functions and Digital Signatures) – asked 10 times in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
What to cover inside these topics
- Authentication Header (part of IP Security)
- Encapsulating Security Payloads (part of IP Security)
- IP Security Architecture (part of IP Security)
- Substitution Ciphers (part of Classical Encryption Techniques)
- Transposition Ciphers (part of Classical Encryption Techniques)
Most asked Cryptography & Network Security topics in each unit
- Unit 1 (Security Foundations, Classical Encryption and Modern Block Ciphers): Classical Encryption Techniques – 10 times; Data Encryption Standard (DES) – 8 times; Block Cipher Modes of Operation – 6 times
- Unit 2 (Mathematical Foundations, AES and Public Key Cryptography): Extended Euclidean Algorithm – 9 times; Chinese Remainder Theorem – 8 times; Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) – 7 times
- Unit 3 (Message Authentication, Hash Functions and Digital Signatures): Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) – 10 times; Digital Signatures – 8 times; Message Authentication Codes – 6 times
- Unit 4 (Key Distribution, Authentication Applications and Email Security): Kerberos – 10 times; X.509 Certificates – 8 times; Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) – 8 times
- Unit 5 (IP Security, Secure Transactions and System Security): IP Security – 11 times; Intrusion Detection – 7 times; Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) – 6 times