'What is Cryptography?'

zoya from middle of america -

In case anybody was wondering:

The term is often used to refer to the field as a whole, as is cryptology. The study of how to circumvent the confidentiality sought by using encryption is called cryptanalysis or, more loosely, "codebreaking." The field is a rich source of jargon, some of it humorous.

Until modern times, cryptography referred almost exclusively to encryption, the process of converting ordinary information (plaintext) into something unintelligible; this is a ciphertext. Decryption is the reverse, moving from unintelligible ciphertext to plaintext. A cipher (or cypher) is a pair of algorithms which perform this encryption and the reversing decryption. The detailed operation of a cipher is controlled both by the algorithm and, in each instance, by a key. This is a secret parameter (known only to the communicants) for the cipher algorithm. Keys are important as ciphers without variable keys are trivially breakable and so rather less than useful. Historically, ciphers were often used directly for encryption or decryption without additional procedures.

In colloquial use, the term "code" is often used to mean any method of encryption or concealment of meaning. However, within cryptography, code has a more specific meaning; it means the replacement of a unit of plaintext (i.e., a meaningful word or phrase) with a code word (for example, apple pie replaces attack at dawn). Codes are no longer used in serious cryptography—except incidentally for such things as unit designations (eg, 'Bronco Flight')—since properly chosen ciphers are both more practical and more secure than even the best codes, and better adapted to computers as well.

Some use the English terms cryptography and cryptology interchangeably, while others use cryptography to refer to the use and practice of cryptographic techniques, and cryptology to refer to the subject as a field of study. In this respect, English usage is more tolerant of overlapping meanings than are several European languages.

*information from wiki

Does anybody have any other information that should be included? If so, please comment away!!

Comment #1 Kings from parallel street -

Presumably the technology is the same as is being used in encryption software like PGP. Is there really any difference between the terms encryption and cryptology then?

Comment #2 Delino from California -

There are many different techniques that can be employed to encrypt "something" such as a document or image. They all fall under the umbrella of encryption which is the name of the art. PGP is a piece of software (actually it's an entire suite of tools) that enables one to encrypta and decrypt documents, drives, etc. Highly recommended although far from simple to use as it is highly unintuitive.

Comment #3 jnights from Watching my back -

It's a fascinating subject and a highly challenging one at that. I worked on a health related project a while ago and had to comply with HIPAA guidelines which require that all communication be encrypted. There are many algorithms and protocols to choose from and it is important to make the correct decisions so as not to enable security breaches or to slow down the application. I had a lot of fun on that project.

Comment #4 Keter from the garage door -

Many people are unaware that they can right click on a web page and immediately see whether it is encrypted and to what extent it is encrypted. The fact that many people will enter credit card details online without even being aware of the need to check on this is a scary thing. It amazes me that some check isn't built into new browser versions to alert people to this need.

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