Encryption
Encryption
Before I begin to tell you about encryption, you need to know what the term means. Encryption is the process of encoding information in such a way that only the person/computer with the key can decode it. So basically, it is writing a message in a secret code, one that only the sender and the receiver(s) can translate.
There are a few terms that you will more than likely see again throughout this web site. One such term is cryptography, which comes from the Greek words for �hidden� and �to write.� Both cryptography and cryptology are used to refer to this field as a whole.
When I think of encryption, one word comes to mind: code. A code is the same thing as a �cipher.� A cipher is a set of algorithms that is used for encryption and decryption (the reverse of encryption). A key, which is a secret guideline for the cipher algorithms, controls the exact operation of a cipher. Earlier in history, �code� was a procedure that replaced a unit of plaintext, which was usually meaningful words or phrases, with a code word. Today however, it is called a cipher and is only part of a cryptosystem. So what is a cryptosystem? It would be a set of algorithms, protocols, and procedures for encryption and decryption.
There is not just one kind of encryption. In fact, most computer encryption systems fall under one of only two categories: symmetric-key encryption and public-key encryption. If you click on the link �Types� (either above or below), you will find out in detail about each type.
Also found in this web site is an entire page dedicated to illegal cryptanalysis. Cryptanalysis, which can also be called �codebreaking,� is the study of how to get around the use of cryptography. Earlier in time, cryptography was known as encryption, which as mentioned above, is the process of changing readable �plaintext� into an unreadable �ciphertext.�
Here are the main web sites where I got my information:
Click here to go to the home page. (You are currently at
the home page.)
Click here to learn more about the main types of
encryption.
Click here to learn how the crime can occur.