What is encryption?
What exactly is encryption? It sounds complex, but it is not. Encryption involves a mathematical algorithm that changes (encodes) plain text data into something that is not readable (ciphertext). Encryption can be broken down into two main components:
- An encryption algorithm, which is a set of mathematical calculations that serve a specific purpose. You will find that these algorithms are further split into symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, which we will cover a bit later. Essentially, an algorithm is used to encrypt data. It can also be coupled with an authentication measure to provide data integrity.
- A cryptographic key. This key is a string of letters that is random, unpredictable, and varies in length and is used to encrypt or decrypt data.
Encryption is not new – it has been around for decades. There are historical accounts of encryption being used in ancient Egypt, whereby various hieroglyphics were changed to obscure the meaning...
