What Is Cryptography

Cryptography is the practice of securing information through the use of codes and ciphers. It is used to protect sensitive information, such as financial data and personal information, from being accessed by unauthorized parties.

There are two main types of cryptography: symmetric and asymmetric.

Symmetric cryptography, also known as secret key cryptography, uses the same key for both encryption and decryption. This means that the sender and the receiver must both have access to the same key in order to encrypt and decrypt the information. Examples of symmetric encryption algorithms include AES and DES.

Asymmetric cryptography, also known as public key cryptography, uses a pair of keys: one for encryption and one for decryption. The encryption key is made public, while the decryption key is kept private. This allows for secure communication even if the sender and receiver have not previously shared a key. Examples of asymmetric encryption algorithms include RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC).

In addition to these two main types, there are also other forms of cryptography such as Hash Function, Digital Signature, and Steganography. Hash functions are a type of cryptography that take an input (or ‘message’) and return a fixed size string of characters, which is usually a hexadecimal number. The same input will always produce the same output, but even a small change to the input will produce a very different output.

Digital signature is a method for detecting whether a file or message has been tampered with, or whether it was actually sent by the person or entity claiming to have sent it.

Steganography is the practice of hiding information within other information, such as hiding a message within an image.

In conclusion, cryptography is a vital tool in today’s digital world for keeping sensitive information secure. There are many different types of cryptography available, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, and it is important to choose the right one for the task at hand.