Cryptography protects data from unauthorized access, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, and non-repudiation. Cryptography is used to secure emails, messages, and data transfers to protect them from eavesdropping. Data Integrity ensures that data has not been tampered with. Authentication means verifying the identity of users and devices.
This section covers
Encryption: The process of converting plaintext into ciphertext using an algorithm and a key. Only someone with the correct key can decrypt the ciphertext back into plaintext.
Hashing: A method of transforming data into a fixed-size value, which is unique to the original data. Hashes are used for verifying data integrity.
Digital Signatures: A cryptographic technique that uses asymmetric keys to verify the authenticity and integrity of a message or document.
It covers both Symmetric Cryptography and Asymmetric Cryptography. The former uses the same key for both encryption and decryption. It's fast and efficient but requires secure key distribution. The latter uses a pair of keys (public and private). The public key is shared openly, while the private key is kept secret. This method enhances security but is slower than symmetric cryptography.
