Application of Cryptography for Information Security in Umaru Musa Yar‟adua University, Katsina-Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the application of cryptography for information security in Umaru Musa Yar‟adua University, Katsina. Two research objectives were formulated and answered. These were: To examine the extent to which cryptography has prevented the security breach of electronic databases and to identify the challenges encountered in the application of cryptography in UMYUK Katsina. The population of the study comprised all the staff members of the Directorate of Information and Communication Technology in the study area. Since the population is not too large, all 21 staff were used as the sample for this study. The questionnaire was the instrument used to collect data for this study. The data collected were presented and analyzed using frequency distribution tables and percentages. The study found that poorly designed user interface, quality of encryption, denial of service attacks, computationally intensive process, randomness, lack of checking for error conditions, and speed of encryption were the common challenges encountered in the application of cryptography. This study recommended that the Directorate of ICT should, as a matter of policy, mount a regular training programme such as seminars, workshops, symposia, and in-house IT training for their staff to equip them with the latest development in the areas of information security systems to provide means of detection and remediation of security breaches of databases such as phishing scams and the like.