What Cryptography Is & How It Works

Introduction

Cryptography is the science of secret writing. It’s been around since ancient times, but only recently has it entered the public consciousness as a means to protect our privacy and security online. As we’ll see in this article, cryptography is based on two important concepts: encryption and hashing. I’ll explain how these principles work and why they’re so important today when people are using computers more than ever before

What is cryptography?

Cryptography is the science of making and breaking codes. It’s used to protect data, information and communications from unauthorized access or use.

Cryptography uses mathematical techniques for coding and decoding messages, so that only authorized parties can read the message. The term ‘cryptology’ refers to both cryptography and cryptanalysis (the science of finding weaknesses in cryptographic systems).

Cryptographic algorithms have been used throughout history for military purposes; however their use has become more widespread since they were first applied commercially during World War II in order to protect sensitive information such as bank accounts or credit card numbers transmitted via telephone lines between computers at separate locations.[1]

Cryptography and encryption

Cryptography is the science of encoding and decoding information in ways that make it unreadable by anyone who doesn’t have access to special tools. Encryption is one type of cryptography, and it refers to any method used to transform data into an unreadable format. Decryption is the opposite process–a way to reverse encryption so that you can read your data again.

History of encryption

The history of cryptography is a long one, dating back to thousands of years ago. In ancient times, messages were often encrypted by using ciphers or codes that made them unreadable to anyone who did not possess knowledge of the key used to encrypt them.

In modern times, cryptography has been used in many different ways: from protecting information from falling into enemy hands during wartime (like when Allied forces cracked German encryption machines during World War II), or ensuring online privacy and security for everyday people (like when you use HTTPS websites).

Mathematical basis for cryptography

Cryptography is the science of securing information. It’s a type of security technology that makes it difficult for anyone to read data, including unintended users. Cryptography uses mathematical algorithms to encrypt and decrypt messages so that they can only be read by those who have access to a secret key or password.

A cryptosystem consists of three components:

• An encryption algorithm (or cipher)
• A decryption algorithm (or decipher)
• A key or passphrase

This is a basic overview of cryptography

Cryptography is the science of encoding and decoding information. It’s used to protect data–whether it’s stored on a computer or transmitted over the internet. Cryptography is used in many applications, including computer security, electronic commerce and medical information privacy.

Conclusion

Cryptography is the art and science of making messages unreadable by anyone except the intended recipient. It’s used for everything from encrypting emails to securing credit card transactions. The first known use of cryptography was in ancient Greece, where scribes would write letters in code so their enemies couldn’t read them if they were captured during wars. Since then, many different types of encryption methods have been invented–including some that even today’s computers can’t crack!