Cryptography
...public or to anyone except those, who are intended to know that information. Cryptography is the process of achieving this result. Basically, Cryptography is the art and science of keeping messages secure. When we say
messages we could be referring to plain text files as well as any other types of files such
as executable files. Basically, the point of cryptography is to allow any user to keep his
data secure and not readable from not desired individuals. In this paper we discuss about Cryptography, types of Cryptography, importance of Cryptography and an application of it.
What is Cryptography?
Cryptography is the art of changing the form of the original information (the plain text) so that it becomes unintelligible for anybody except for those, who are intended to understand it. This process is called encoding. The result of the encoding is the cipher text. The process of restoring the original form of the information is the decoding or deciphering.
Key :
So-called secure methods of encoding and decoding digital information use some information in addition to the original data; this is the cryptographic key, or simply the key. The knowledge of the key is crucial for the decoding process. Everyone who knows this key (and the applicable method) is able to restore the original data.
Cryptosystem :
A cryptosystem (or cryptographic system) is the package of all procedures, protocols, cryptographic algorithms and instructions used for encoding and decoding messages using cryptography.
There are two kinds of cryptosystems: symmetric and asymmetric.
a) Symmetric cryptosystem: A cryptosystem that uses the same key(secret key) for encryption as decryption. This is also called Private Key Cryptosystem. Only people who are authorized to encrypt/decrypt the messages should know the key.
b)...
View Full Essay