Privacy and Security in Online Examination Systems

A new method for key generation using Data Encryption Standard (DES) is proposed in order to make it more secure for Online Examination System (OES). Privacy and security are crucial in an OES. Privacy represents the ability to maintain a personal space such that there is certain user control on what and how much of personal information can be shared with others. Security describes the level of data integrity and protection the system offers. There are two main factors that affect the student's privacy and security in an OES: exam score and impartiality. The exam score is encrypted before being saved in the database and can only be accessed by the respective authorized student. Impartiality is accomplished by using the proposed cryptography scheme that encrypts the student's identification before sending the paper to the examiner for grading.