Cryptography

Introduction

Cryptography is one of the vital methods in network and computer security for information confidentiality and access control. Cryptography is the method of securing confidential information. It is the study or practice of techniques for safe communication in the existence of third parties. Furthermore, it is about analyzing and constructing protocols that defeat the impacts of adversaries. It also helps to defeat several risks regarding information security including data integrity, confidentiality, non-repudiation and authentication. Modern and updated cryptography incorporates the disciplines of electrical engineering, computer science and mathematics. Cryptography is implemented in several areas of life including electronic commerce, computer passwords, ATM cards etc. (Buchmann, 2004).

Discussion

Basic Concept of Cryptography

Cryptography is the method of keeping the confidential and private information secure. In its initial days, cryptography was also known as encryption, the alteration of data from an understandable state to nonsense state. The inventor of an encrypted message used the technique of decoding information in order to recover the desired original information. This can only be done by identifying the authenticity of a person. Therefore the methods of cryptography and its applications have become more complicated with the passage of time (Buchmann, 2004).

Researches show that latest cryptography is greatly based on practices of computer science and mathematical theories. The algorithms of cryptography are planned around the assumptions of computational hardness. It makes the algorithms so hard that, no adversary can break these algorithms (Folland, 2001).

Examples of cryptography

Cryptography is known as the practices and study of hiding confidential information. There are several examples of cryptography that are used in government as well as in businesses, in order to avoid the unauthorized access or disclosure of confidential information. There are several examples of cryptography including symmetric, asymmetric, elliptic curve and quantum cryptography (Stinson, 2006). All of these examples are briefly discussed below:

Symmetric ...