Plaintext, The original message or data that is readable and understandable. For example, a sentence in English that humans can read and understand., Cipher, An algorithm used for encryption and decryption. It is a mathematical equation to turn plaintext into ciphertext by scrambling the original message., Ciphertext, The output of plain text + Cipher., Key, A piece of data required for encryption and decryption. It is secret information that controls the cryptographic process and ensures only those with the key can read and understand the encrypted message., Encryption, A process which transforms plaintext into ciphertext using a cipher and a key. It is a way of safeguarding data or information by making it unreadable and unintelligible to anyone without a key., Decryption, A process which transforms ciphertext back into plaintext using the same Cipher and key. It is the process of taking encrypted data and restoring it to its original, unencrypted form., Symmetric Encryption, Uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt the data., Asymmetric Encryption, Uses a pair of keys, one to encrypt and the other in the pair to decrypt; these keys are referred to as a public key and a private key., Encoding, This isn't encryption; it's just a form of data representation like Base64. Immediately reversible, typically used to ensure the integrity and usability of data., Hash, A one-way summary of data that cannot be reversed and is used to validate data integrity; typically used for passwords., Hash Collision, When two or more different inputs give the same output of a hash, Malicious users can take advantage of this to mimic, access, or alter data., Salt, Additional security step, adds data to the plaintext to protect it., Brute Force, Attacking cryptography by trying every different password or key..

Cryptography Terms

by
Print
Embed

Leaderboard

Visual style

Options

Switch template

)
Continue editing: ?