Using a combination of symmetric and asymmetric key encryption, Sofia sent a report to her home office in Indiana. She received an e-mail acknowledgement that her report had been received, but a few minutes later she received a second e-mail that contained a different hash total than the one associated with her report. This most likely explanation for this result is that

Group of answer choices.

A) the public key had been compromised.

B) the private key had been compromised.

C) the symmetric encryption key had been compromised.

D) the asymmetric encryption key had been compromised.

C) the symmetric encryption key had been compromised.

Explanation:

Cyber security can be defined as preventive practice of protecting computers, software programs, electronic devices, networks, servers and data from potential theft, attack, damage, or unauthorized access by using a body of technology, frameworks, processes and network engineers.

In Cyber security, encryption is a form of cryptography and typically involves the process of converting or encoding informations in plaintext into a code, known as a ciphertext.

Typically, an information or data that has been encrypted can only be accessed and deciphered by an authorized user.

Some examples of encryption algorithms are 3DES, AES, RC4, RC5, and RSA.

Email encryption is the encryption and authentication of an email to protect the message therein from being read by any person other than the intended recipients. Thus, it protects the email from hacking or invasion by a third party.

Basically, when the message is signed with the sender's private key, the receiver can verify its authenticity using the sender's public key.

Also, encrypting the email message with the receiver's public key provides confidentiality.

In this scenario, the most likely explanation for this result is that the symmetric encryption key had been compromised.