Introduction to Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice of securing information so that it cannot be read or understood by anyone other than the intended recipient. It involves techniques for encryption and decryption of data, as well as techniques for protecting the integrity of data. Cryptography is used to protect sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information. In this lesson, we will explore the basics of cryptography and how it is used to secure information.
Cryptography has been used for thousands of years, dating back to ancient civilizations. One example of early cryptography is the Caesar Cipher, which was used by Julius Caesar to encrypt messages. In this technique, each letter in the message is replaced by a letter that is a fixed number of positions down the alphabet. For example, if the fixed number is 3, then A becomes D, B becomes E, and so on.
Today, cryptography is used in many different ways. One common application is in secure communication over the internet. When you visit a website that uses the HTTPS protocol, your communication with the website is encrypted to protect your sensitive information. Another application is in digital signatures, which are used to verify the authenticity of digital documents. Cryptography is also used in password storage, to ensure that even if a database is compromised, the passwords cannot be easily read by attackers.
Cryptography involves two main techniques: encryption and decryption. Encryption is the process of converting plaintext (unencrypted data) into ciphertext (encrypted data). Decryption is the process of converting ciphertext back into plaintext. There are two main types of encryption: symmetric key encryption and asymmetric key encryption. In symmetric key encryption, the same key is used for both encryption and decryption. In asymmetric key encryption, two different keys are used: a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.
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