In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information (referred to as plaintext) using an algorithm (called cipher) to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. Cryptography (or cryptology; from Greek grc κρυπτός kryptos, "hidden secret" and grc γράφω gráphō, "I write" Information as a concept has a diversity of meanings from everyday usage to technical settings In Cryptography, plaintext is the information which the sender wishes to transmit to the receiver(s In Cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an Algorithm for performing Encryption and Decryption &mdash a series of well-defined steps In Cryptography, a key is a piece of information (a Parameter) that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm The result of the process is encrypted information (in cryptography, referred to as ciphertext). In many contexts, the word encryption also implicitly refers to the reverse process, decryption (e. g. “software for encryption” can typically also perform decryption), to make the encrypted information readable again (i. Encryption software is Software whose main task is Encryption and Decryption of data usually in the form of files on (or sectors of Hard drives e. to make it unencrypted).

Encryption has long been used by militaries and governments to facilitate secret communication. Encryption is now used in protecting information within many kinds of civilian systems, such as computers, networks (e. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. A computer network is a group of interconnected Computers. Networks may be classified according to a wide variety of characteristics g. the Internet e-commerce), mobile telephones, wireless microphones, wireless intercom systems, Bluetooth devices and bank automatic teller machines. The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce' or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic A wireless microphone, as the name implies is a Microphone without a physical cable connecting it directly to the sound recording or amplifying equipment with which it is associated A wireless intercom is an electronic device that enables voice communication without the need to run wires between intercom stations Bluetooth is a wireless protocol utilizing short-range communications technology facilitating data transmission over short distances from fixed and/or mobile devices creating wireless Encryption is also used in digital rights management to prevent unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted material and in software also to protect against reverse engineering (see also copy protection). Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders Reverse engineering (RE is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device object or system through analysis of its structure function and operation Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention, or copy restriction, is a technology for preventing the unauthorised reproduction

Encryption, by itself, can protect the confidentiality of messages, but other techniques are still needed to protect the integrity and authenticity of a message; for example, verification of a message authentication code (MAC) or a digital signature. A cryptographic message authentication code (MAC is a short piece of information used to Authenticate a message A digital signature or digital signature scheme is a type of asymmetric cryptography used to simulate the security properties of a handwritten Signature Standards and cryptographic software and hardware to perform encryption are widely available, but successfully using encryption to ensure security may be a challenging problem. Encryption software is Software whose main task is Encryption and Decryption of data usually in the form of files on (or sectors of Hard drives A single slip-up in system design or execution can allow successful attacks. Sometimes an adversary can obtain unencrypted information without directly undoing the encryption. See, e. g. , traffic analysis, TEMPEST, or Trojan horse. Traffic analysis is the process of intercepting and examining messages in order to deduce information from patterns in Communication. TEMPEST is a Codename referring to investigations and studies of compromising emanations (CE This article refers to a form of Malware in computing terminology

Semantics

This term is somewhat a misnomer, but is very commonly used as described above. More correctly, the term "encyphering" should be used (along with "decyphering" for decoding a cryptographically encoded message, when you know the cipher and key). "Decrypt" actually means to decode a message when you do not know the cypher and/or key (i. e. , codebreaking), and "encrypt" is meaningless, strictly speaking. However, the common usage is so pervasive even in academic literature, that these distinctions are now generally lost.

The terms "encrypt" and "decrypt" are discouraged in international documents, since they tend to be mistranslated to "inter" (bury) and "disinter".

References

• Helen Fouché Gaines, “Cryptanalysis”, 1939, Dover. ISBN 0-486-20097-3
• David Kahn, The Codebreakers - The Story of Secret Writing (ISBN 0-684-83130-9) (1967)
• Abraham Sinkov, Elementary Cryptanalysis: A Mathematical Approach, Mathematical Association of America, 1966. David Kahn (b February 7, 1930) is a US Historian, Journalist and Writer. Dr Abraham Sinkov (1907-1998 was a US cryptanalyst. Biography Sinkov the son of immigrants from Russia, was born in Philadelphia ISBN 0-88385-622-0

See also

• Cryptography - term which encompasses encryption and other concepts used for hiding information
• Encryption software
• Cipher - algorithm used for encryption
• Key - special knowledge needed for successful decryption

External links

• SecurityDocs Resource for encryption whitepapers
• Accumulative archive of various cryptography mailing lists. Includes Cryptography list at metzdowd and SecurityFocus Crypto list. Cryptography (or cryptology; from Greek grc κρυπτός kryptos, "hidden secret" and grc γράφω gráphō, "I write" Encryption software is Software whose main task is Encryption and Decryption of data usually in the form of files on (or sectors of Hard drives In Cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an Algorithm for performing Encryption and Decryption &mdash a series of well-defined steps In Cryptography, a key is a piece of information (a Parameter) that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm
• WebApplet Try out more than 20 encryption and hash algorithms