Security through obscurity is generally discouraged because it relies on secrecy of the encryption method.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not stated
• D. Unknown

Answer: (A)

Relying on secrecy of the encryption method is not a robust security approach. The idea being tested is that a cryptosystem should remain secure even if the algorithm is known; only the key needs to stay secret. This is Kerckhoffs’s principle: publish the algorithm, rely on key secrecy, and still maintain security. If the method itself is kept secret, a leak or reverse engineering can expose the algorithm and defeat the protection, making the system fragile and hard to audit or update. Obscurity can add a small extra hurdle, but it should not be the main defense. Therefore, the statement is true.