Cryptography: The Hidden Communication!
By Sandeep Kasalkar
Cryptography is the study of secure communications techniques that allow only the sender and intended recipient of the message to view its contents. The term is derived from the Greek word ‘kryptos’ which means hidden. Although the technique has been around since ages, today’s cryptography is built on principles from computer science & mathematics.
Thus, using cryptography, data and communications are protected so that only the sender and the intended receiver may access them. It is a method of message security as well as the study of communications. Cryptography can ultimately prevent data from being changed or stolen. It can also be used to verify user identities.
To keep electronic data and messages secure and readable by the intended parties only, cryptography frequently uses encryption and an algorithm.
Types of Cryptography
Symmetric cryptography and asymmetric cryptography are the two primary types of encryption used for digital data and secure messages today. A third form of function doesn’t require the use of a key-hash functions.
(1) Symmetric cryptography:
One of the most popular and straightforward methods for encrypting and decrypting electronic data is symmetric cryptography. Secret-key or private-key cryptography are other names for it. Both the sender and the recipient will have the same key in symmetric cryptography. On one end, this key is used to encrypt communications and data, while on the other, it is used to decrypt it. The secret key used for communication must be the same for both parties. Symmetric cryptography is quick, simple to use, and ideal for bulk encryption or data transmission.
Stream and block algorithms are two primary types of symmetric encryption methods.
(a) Stream algorithm:
This kind does not save the encrypted data in the system’s memory since it encrypts the data as it is streamed. The RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4) is one of the most widely used stream cyphers, encrypting communications one byte at a time.
(b) Block algorithms:
Using the secret key, this particular type encrypts & blocks of data that contain certain bit lengths. While blocks are finished, the data is kept in the system’s memory. The most often used symmetric algorithm is called Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Cryptographic keys of 128, 192, and 256 bits are used to encrypt and decode blocks of 128-bit data.
(2) Asymmetric cryptography:
This technique, commonly known as public-key cryptography, makes use of two separate keys. To encrypt data, a key is publicly disseminated to everyone. This key is necessary to encrypt and transmit communications. To encrypt the data, a sender might ask the recipient for their public key. The communication will then need to be decrypted using the private key, which is kept a secret. The private and public key pairs are mathematically connected. To carry out activities, send and receive encrypted data and communications, and access sensitive data, both keys are required. Asymmetric cryptography is frequently employed on a smaller scale since it requires more processing power and longer keys, with data chunks that are smaller than the key.
(3) Hash functions:
This is the third kind, a keyless cryptography. Based on a plain text message, a fixed length hash value is used. The message may then be used to verify that it hasn’t been tampered with or compromised. Since the hashed output cannot be reversed to disclose the input data, hash functions offer an additional degree of protection.
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