Cryptography
Cryptography is the study of strategies and techniques to create secure communication messages that conceal their true meaning from enemies or other prying eyes. Research on Cryptography can span the topics of computer security to data compromising threats to coding. Get help from those that study cryptology and learn how to prevent unauthorized users from reading private messages.
Cryptography isn't just about writing a code, it requires the following skills:
- Math
- Science
- Knowledge of computers and engineering
- Physics
Modern day cryptology impacts everyday security processes like keeping electronic passwords safe and securing electronic financial resources.
Historically, cryptography was used primarily to keep messages secure and confidential. Until recent years, the terms cryptography meant that a letter had been encrypted or had gone through encryption. Encryption is the process where a message is changed so that only the intended recipient can truly know what the text truly says. The encryption code is only shared with the people who should be able to read it. A cipher that can create and encryption, but it can also decrypt the message.
Symmetric-key cryptology is one way that a message can be decrypted. Symmetric-key cryptology is the original form of cryptology and was the only way that messages were encoded before 1976. In a symmetric-key the sender and the receiver both share a code key that is either the same or very similar so that both parties can read and understand the encrypted content. In contrast, a public key, or asymmetric key, is made up of two keys a private and a public key. With this method a public key can be handed out, but the private counterpart must remain a secret. The public key is used to create the code while the secret private key is what is used to decrypt the code.