Cryptography

Cryptography is the art and science of securing information by transforming it into an unreadable format, preventing unauthorized access. It involves designing, developing, and analyzing cryptographic systems and protocols, including encryption, decryption, hashing, and digital signatures. The core goal is to ensure confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation of data, safeguarding communications and digital assets against threats like eavesdropping, tampering, and impersonation. This field draws upon mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering. Furthermore, it plays a crucial role in modern applications like online banking, secure email, and blockchain technology.

Cryptography meaning with examples

• Governments employ advanced cryptography to protect sensitive national security information. Highly classified communications are encrypted using sophisticated algorithms, making interception and decryption exceedingly difficult. This ensures the privacy of diplomatic exchanges and the secrecy of military operations, defending against espionage.
• E-commerce websites rely heavily on cryptography to secure online transactions. Customer credit card details are encrypted during transmission, preventing unauthorized access and financial fraud. Secure protocols, like SSL/TLS, create an encrypted channel between the customer's browser and the website's server.
• Cryptography is fundamental to blockchain technology, specifically securing the ledger. Cryptographic hash functions ensure the integrity of each block, and digital signatures authenticate transactions, verifying the senders identity. Proof of work, the process for securing blockchains, is another aspect of the usage of cryptography.
• Modern messaging apps use end-to-end encryption, a form of cryptography, to protect user conversations. Messages are encrypted on the sender's device and decrypted only on the recipient's device, making them unreadable to the messaging service itself. This creates a highly secure communication channel.