Credit Card Crypto

This assignment requires you to try your hand out at a very common error checking (data integrity) algorithm, and also introduces you to very elementary cryptographic algorithms.

Retrieving Files

1. Make sure to setup the git tool as we described in class (see online handout on 'Git Version Control'). Also, make sure to create your own RSA keypair and link your public key to Github. You can then clone any public project from Github onto your local machine.
2. Fork this project on Github (a copy is created in your Github account) using the 'Fork' button
3. Clone your copy of the forked project onto your local machine: git clone git@github.com:[your_username]/hw_3-credit_card_crypto.git
4. Add the bundler-audit gem to your list of gems in Gemfile; run bundle install to install it
5. Use the 'bundle' gem (which you should have installed earlier) to install all gems required for this assignment (listed in the Gemfile) onto your local machine: bundle install

Working on Assignment

While working on this assignment, frequently save your work and push it back to your Github repo:

git add .
git commit -m "Enter meaningful description here"
git push -u origin main

After the first time you have pushed using -u origin main, you can subsequently push it simply by doing:

git push

Submission

Submission instructions will be provided separately by your instructor. But before submission, make sure each file you have worked on passes the style guide suggested by Rubocop:

  rubocop <your_ruby_file.rb>

Always run a final audit of your gems for vulnerabilities:

  bundle-audit check --update

Requirements

This project is in several parts. Make sure you ONLY do the part that is relevant to this week.

A. Luhn Algorithm

You will write the algorithm used by financial institutions to check whether a credit card number is valid or not, by checking its last digit (checksum). This is done by using the Luhn Algorithm. You can see this algorithm in action at any online Luhn algorithm calculator.

1. Implement the file called luhn_validator.rb

• There is one method you must fill out, called validate_checksum(). It must check a credit card number and return (true/false) whether the last checksum digit is correct.
• This week, try to make your code more readable rather than emphasizing performance

2. Implement the file called credit_card.rb (see TODO comments):

• mixin the LuhnValidator
• initialize the instance variables
• create a #to_json method that converts the instance variables into a JSON string format

Make sure it passes the luhn_spec test that is provided:

ruby spec/luhn_spec.rb

(run the spec file from the root directory of your solution)

And bench test the performance of your code by running the bench code:

ruby bench/luhn_bench.rb

3. Submit: Remember that all members of your team should attempt each part of the assignment and push your individual work to Github. You may work together and share code and ideas. However, each person should submit their own solution (see submission details here).

B. Substitution and Transposition Ciphers

Work as a team to implement three ciphers that we saw in class: the Caesar Cipher, Permutation Cipher and Double Transposition Cipher. These ciphers represent the state of the art of cryptography from antiquity till World War II.

• Implement the SubstitutionCipher module in substitution_cipher.rb
  • Create encrypt and decrypt methods of both ciphers
    • all methods take plaintext document strings with characters are printable ASCII (ord 32-126)
    • all methods take a positive key integer
    • all methods return a string (encrypted or decrypted)
    • Make sure the decrypt method recreates the original document given before encryption!
  • Caesar cipher: there is no need to 'wrap' values -- just add/subtract the key to encrypt/decrypt (its ok if the resulting ordinal values are greater than 127)
  • Permutation cipher:
    • assume you can replace with any characters values from 0-127 (ord)
    • start by creating a lookup table of characters by randomly "shuffling" the numbers (0..127) using the key
      • See the Array.shuffle(random: rng) method
      • See the Random.new(seed) method
• Implement the DoubleTranspositionCipher in double_trans_cipher.rb (more hints in source file)
  • Write your own tests for the double transposition cipher in spec/crypto_spec.rb: Try writing these tests before coding!
  • Can you DRY out all the tests using metaprogramming as we saw in class? (DRY = Do not Repeat Yourself in code)

While coding, make sure it passes all the tests you are provided:

ruby spec/crypto_spec.rb

C. Advanced Crypto and Hashing

This week, we enter the world of modern cryptography. Your team must use the RbNacl library for the ModernSymmetricCipher cipher and SHA256 hashing algorithms. We should not implement modern ciphers ourselves for production purposes.

C.1. ModernSymmetricCipher

Implement a modern cryptographic encryption method:

• ModernSymmetricCipher in sk_cipher.rb
• Write your own tests for ModernSymmetricCipher in spec/crypto_spec.rb:
  • make sure your implemented tests all fail before writing any code!
  • make sure they pass one-by-one while writing code :)
  • Can you DRY out all the tests using metaprogramming?
• Note that you are required to return serialized data as Base64:
  • Use require 'base64' to use Ruby's Base64 gem
  • Serialize data using: Base64.strict_encode64(data) to get a base 64 string
  • Deserialize using: Base64.strict_decode64(b64_str)

C.2. Hashing

Your team must implement hashing methods for credit card objects. Recall that all objects in Ruby have a hash method by default. However, this method does not use the contents of their objects to produce hashes. Furthermore, this hash method cannot produce a cryptographically strong hash.

• Override the default hash: Override the default hash method of CreditCard to hash the serialized data of the card. Credit cards with identical information should produce identical hashes. Do not use any cryptographic hashing method here.
• Create a cryptographic hash: Implement the secure_hash method to produce a SHA256 hash (return a hexadecimal string). Credit cards with identical information should produce identical secure hashes.
• BUT FIRST: look at the hashing test specs in spec/hash_spec.rb
  • Implement all the test descriptions (you are welcome to add your own as well)
  • make sure your implemented tests all fail before writing any code!
  • make sure they pass one-by-one while writing code :)
• We are coming to the end of this assignment -- time to do some cleanup:
  • Add references in Gemfile to all the gems you are using in your code and test files. (see http://bundler.io for what to put in a Gemfile)
  • run rubocop on all your code to see if your code style is appropriate