Provide steps in descrypting messages with openSSL.

Question

With a similar OpenSSL command, it is possible to decrypt message.enc.

Answer 1

a. Use the command below to decrypt message.enc:
```
[analyst@secOps lab.support.files]$ openssl aes-256-cbc –a -d -in message.enc
-out decrypted_letter.txt
```
b. OpenSSL will ask for the password used to encrypt the file. Enter the same password
again.
c. When OpenSSL finishes decrypting the message.enc file, it saves the decrypted
message in a text file called decrypted_letter.txt. Use cat to display the contents of
decrypted_letter.txt:
```
[analyst@secOps lab.support.files]$ cat decrypted_letter.txt
```
Was the letter decrypted correctly?
___________________________________________________
Yes, the letter was decrypted correctly.
The command used to decrypt also contains the -a option. Can you explain?
___________________________________________________
Because message.enc was Base64 encoded after the encryption process took place,
message.enc must be Base64 decoded before OpenSSL can decrypt it.