6 Types of Cryptography Attacks

What are cryptography attacks?

In cybersecurity, cryptography is a mechanism to ensure data security in transit or at rest. Organizations are investing heavily in encryption solutions to protect their data with the rise in cybersecurity breaches. However, hackers, too, are proving equal to the task by evolving advanced techniques to target cryptographic solutions. 

Today, we delve into the top six most common types of cryptographic attacks (and how to prevent them.)

What is Cryptography?

Cryptography is a security mechanism for storing and transmitting sensitive data such that only the sender and the intended receiver can read or understand it. Key(s) are used to encode (at the sender's end) and decode (at the receiver's end) the data. Encryption is the process of converting plaintext or data into ciphertext or encoded data (that is not readable to everyone). Converting the ciphertext or encrypted data to a readable form or decoded version is called decryption.

In short, cryptography ensures that information remains unreadable to unauthorized users. It employs mathematical algorithms and cryptographic keys to encode (encrypt) and decode (decrypt) data between a sender and receiver. Encryption transforms readable plaintext into ciphertext, rendering it unintelligible to anyone lacking the correct key. Decryption reverses the process, restoring the original information.

In today’s cybersecurity landscape, encryption is embedded everywhere, from SSL/TLS protocols securing Internet traffic, to full-disk encryption on endpoints, to end-to-end encrypted messaging. Yet, the security of any cryptographic system depends not only on algorithm strength but also on key management, implementation integrity, and human discipline.

The Role of Cryptography in Cybersecurity

Cryptography remains one of the most vital mechanisms for protecting sensitive data, whether it’s stored on a local server, transmitted across cloud environments, or integrated within IoT devices. It forms the foundation for confidentiality, integrity, and authentication across every digital interaction. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, organizations are investing heavily in advanced encryption and key management solutions to safeguard their assets.

However, adversaries are evolving just as quickly, leveraging AI-assisted decryption, side-channel attacks, and quantum-resistant algorithms to bypass traditional encryption mechanisms.

The result? Even the strongest cryptographic frameworks are now under unprecedented strain.

What are Cryptography Attacks?

A cryptographic attack is a method used by hackers to target cryptographic solutions like ciphertext, encryption keys, etc. These attacks aim to retrieve the plaintext from the ciphertext or decode the encrypted data. H

ackers may attempt to bypass the security of a cryptographic system by discovering weaknesses and flaws in cryptography techniques, cryptographic protocols, encryption algorithms, or key management strategies.

Passive vs. Active Cryptography Attacks

A cryptography attack can be either passive or active.

Cryptographic attacks generally fall into two categories:

• Passive Attacks: These focus on interception and analysis. Attackers monitor communication channels to extract sensitive information without altering the data flow. Examples include traffic analysis and eavesdropping, where attackers capture ciphertext and use statistical methods to infer patterns.

• Active Attacks: These involve direct manipulation or injection. The attacker not only gains access to the data but also modifies, corrupts, or impersonates communication to alter outcomes. Active attacks are far more destructive, often forming the backbone of man-in-the-middle (MITM) exploits or ciphertext modification attempts.

Types of Cryptography Attacks

Depending on the type of cryptographic system in place and the information available to the attacker, these attacks can be broadly classified into six types:

• Brute force attacks: Public and private keys play a significant role in encrypting and decrypting the data in a cryptographic system. In a brute force attack, the cybercriminal tries various private keys to decipher an encrypted message or data. If the key size is 8-bit, the possible keys will be 256 (i.e., 28). The cybercriminal must know the algorithm (usually found as open-source programs) to try all the 256 possible keys in this attack technique.

• Ciphertext-only attacks: In this attack vector, the attacker gains access to a collection of ciphertext. Although the attacker cannot access the plaintext, they can successfully determine the ciphertext from the collection. Through this attack technique, the attacker can occasionally determine the key.

• Chosen plaintext attacks: Here, the cybercriminal can choose arbitrary plaintext data to obtain the ciphertext. It simplifies the attacker's task of resolving the encryption key. One well-known example of this type of attack is the differential cryptanalysis performed on block ciphers.

• Chosen ciphertext attack: In this attack model, the cybercriminal analyzes a chosen ciphertext corresponding to its plaintext. The attacker tries to obtain a secret key or the details about the system. By analyzing the chosen ciphertext and relating it to the plaintext, the attacker attempts to guess the key. Older versions of RSA encryption were prone to this attack.

• Known plaintext attacks: Via this technique, the cybercriminal finds or knows the plaintext of some portions of the ciphertext using information gathering techniques. Linear cryptanalysis in block cipher is one such example.

• Key and algorithm attacks: Here, the attacker tries to recover the key used to encrypt or decrypt the data by analyzing the cryptographic algorithm.

Preventing Cryptography Attacks

To prevent cryptography attacks, it is essential to have a strong cryptographic system in place. Some of the ways to achieve this are:

• Regularly update the cryptographic algorithms and protocols to ensure they are not obsolete.

• Ensure that the data is appropriately encrypted so that even if it falls into the wrong hands, it will be unreadable.

• Use strong and unique keys for encryption.

• Store the keys in a secure location.

• Ensure that the cryptographic system is implemented correctly.

• Regularly test the system for vulnerabilities.

• Educate employees about cryptography attacks and how to prevent them.

Conclusion

With over 95% of organizations reporting at least one cloud-related breach and encryption management markets expected to exceed USD 6.07 billion by 2026, cryptography is both the foundation and frontier of cybersecurity.

As encryption technologies advance, so do the adversarial tools designed to break them. The balance between innovation and defense is shifting toward continuous validation—through cryptographic resilience testing, AI-driven anomaly detection, and cross-layer encryption audits.

Organizations that integrate cryptographic testing into their offensive security strategy will not only safeguard their data but also maintain the trust and resilience necessary in a post-quantum, AI-driven world.