Exhaustive Key Search

Question

Give a brief explanation of the term Exhaustive Key Search?

Answer 1

Exhaustive key search , brute-force search, is the essential method of trying every probable key in turn till the correct key is identified. To identify the correct key it might be essential to possess a plaintext and its corresponding ciphertext, or if plaintext has some identifiable characteristic, ciphertext alone may suffice. Exhaustive key search can be mounted on any cipher and sometimes a weakness in key schedule of cipher can help enhance the efficiency of the exhaustive key search attack.