CRYPTOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO ENHANCING COMPUTER-BASED TEST SECURITY: EXAMINATION NUMBER GENERATION AND AUTHENTICATION SCHEME

Over the past decades, authors have created multiple question papers in Computer-Based Tests (CBT) by adopting Fisher-Yate’s, Sattolo’s and key-word based shuffling algorithms without indicating access procedure to the question papers. In this research, an Examination Number Generation and Authentication Scheme (ENGAS) is proposed which is a novel approach to CBT security that generates a large number of batches of examination numbers using asymmetric cryptographic schemes to provide secure and automated question Paper assembly. During design, cryptographic and complexity management algorithms were harnessed to determine the scheme’s functionality and performance. Next, a high-level algorithm of the scheme was developed using Greedy, recursive and Divide-and-Conquer algorithm development approaches. Lastly, the developed algorithms were simulated and integrated to a CBT using ASP.NET Core, Entity Framework and SQL Server 2014. Coverage testing based on the required functionalities and security level determination indicated that ENGAS was well consolidated with leptokurtic cryptographic features distribution for secure question paper assembly, scalable to meet extreme population increase and capable of eliminating the use of proxy and question paper personalization.