Which encryption algorithm is BEST suited for communication with handheld wireless devices?

A.
ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem)

B.
RSA

C.
SHA

D.
RC4

Explanation:
Elliptic curves are rich mathematical structures that have shown usefulness in many different types of
applications. An elliptic curve cryptosystem (ECC) provides much of the same functionality RSA provides:
digital signatures, secure key distribution, and encryption. One differing factor is ECC’s efficiency. ECC is more
efficient than RSA and any other asymmetric algorithm.
Some devices have limited processing capacity, storage, power supply, and bandwidth, such as wireless
devices and cellular telephones. With these types of devices, efficiency of resource use is very important. ECC
provides encryption functionality, requiring a smaller percentage of the resources compared to RSA and other
algorithms, so it is used in these types of devices.
In most cases, the longer the key, the more protection that is provided, but ECC can provide the same level of
protection with a key size that is shorter than what RSA requires. Because longer keys require more resources
to perform mathematical tasks, the smaller keys used in ECC require fewer resources of the device.Incorrect Answers:
B: RSA is less efficient than ECC which makes RSA less suited for communication with handheld wireless
devices.
C: SHA is a hashing algorithm; it is not an encryption algorithm suited for communication with handheld
wireless devices.
D: RC4 is a symmetric algorithm whereas ECC is asymmetric which makes ECC more suited for
communication with handheld wireless devices.

Harris, Shon, All In One CISSP Exam Guide, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2013, pp. 818-819