What is Encryption?
Encryption is the method by which information is converted into a secret code. This is a way of hiding the true meaning of the data.
Encrypting data or information (converting plaintext or simple message into secret code) and decrypting (converting secret code into plaintext) is called cryptography.
Cryptography or Encryption is very important to maintain the confidentiality of data in computing science.
The purpose of encryption is to maintain the confidentiality of data.
In encryption un-encrypted data is also known as plaintext, and encrypted data is called ciphertext.
So friends, this was a basic information about Encryption, if you want to know about it in detail then you keep reading this article further because in today's article we will know in detail what is Encryption? How many types of encryption are there? And how does encryption work?
So without wasting any time let us know what is encryption?
What is encryption?
Definiton: Encryption is a method through which data is converted into unreadable text or code. Not everyone can read this code. It can only be understood or read by someone who has the key to decrypt this data, here the key is a number (or a set of numbers) that is used during encryption and decryption of the data.
Encryption keeps our data very safe and also protects it from being hacked.
In Encryption, the formulas used to encode and decode messages are called Encryption Algorithms.
If we talk about encryption in technical terms, the process of converting any data from plaintext to ciphertext is called encryption . In this process a key is used, which remains with both the sender and the receiver. Through this key the data is decrypted and encrypted. It protects all our important information from hackers and also helps in keeping the data secure.
Types of Encryption
There are mainly two types of encryption: Symmetric Encryption and Asymmetric Encryption.
1) Symmetric Encryption
In Symmetric Encryption, only one key is used to encrypt and decrypt the data. In this, when data is exchanged, a key is also shared with it so that the receiver can understand the received data by decrypting it through the key.
The biggest danger in symmetric encryption lies during key sharing because if someone else gets this key then he can easily decrypt and read your data. 3DES and AES algorithm is used in this encryption.
2) Asymmetric Encryption
Asymmetric is also called public key encryption. Two keys are used in Asymmetric Encryption: Public Key and Private Key.
In this, the public key is used to encrypt the data while the private key is used to decrypt that data. In this, both the keys work on the same algorithm. The public key is available to everyone while the private key is kept secret.
When a sender sends data, he uses the public key to encrypt the data and when the receiver receives the encrypted data, he uses the private key to decrypt the data.
Asymmetric cryptography is used to keep user information secure in protocols like HTTPS, FTPS, etc.
History of Encryption
The word “Encryption” is derived from the Greek word “Cryptos”, which means to keep secret.
It has been in use since a long time but the popularity of this word increased in the year 1970, earlier people used encryption through hieroglyphs. After this, both B. Whitefield and Martin Helman together developed Cryptography paper in 1977 and told people about encryption and decryption.
Earlier encryption was used only by government organizations and army but in this era of technology encryption is increasing very fast.
Where is encryption used?
The number of internet users is continuously increasing, with which it has become mandatory to keep data secure. Encryption is used to protect data.
Encryption is used in the following places -:
Website: You must have seen https in the URL of many websites, which means the transfer of data in that website is encrypted and secure.
Social Media Apps: Encryption is used not only in websites but in many social media apps including WhatsApp and Facebook etc. All these platforms use encryption to protect their users' messages and data.
ATM: While withdrawing or depositing money from banks and ATMs, our data is transferred from one place to another. To make it secure so that no one can steal the data, encryption is used.
Advantages of Encryption
- Data information is transferred securely from one place to another through encryption.
- In this, the threat to data privacy is reduced to a great extent.
- In encryption, only the person to whom you send your message can read it and no one else.
- People are not at risk of their data being stolen because all the data is in encrypted form.
- If someone gets your data then without the key he cannot understand what is written in it.
Information about some important words related to Encryption
- Algorithm: Algorithm is a type of computer program that determines rules, instructions and mathematical calculations to encrypt data. Many algorithms are used in encryption, of which DES , RSA and AES are quite famous.
- Plaintext: The data which can be read easily is called plain text.
- Ciphertext: In the encryption process, when plain text is converted into code, then this code is called cipher text.
- Key: It is a type of key to encrypt and decrypt the data.
What is the importance of encryption?
Encryption is very important in making data sharing secure through online mediums. This keeps our information safe and away from the eyes of hackers.
- Data Security
Nowadays there are many online frauds and scams. Which is a matter of concern. To overcome this and make the data more secure, encryption is used. If someone gets your encrypted data, then without the decryption key he will neither be able to access nor read the data.
- Data Privacy
The privacy of data is strengthened through encryption because only the one who has the key can read the encrypted data.
What is Decryption?
Decryption is the process that converts encrypted data into plain text. This text can be easily understood and read. In this process, it is mandatory for the user to have the encryption key so that he can decrypt the data.
What does End to End Encryption mean?
This encryption is mostly used in WhatsApp. In this, apart from the sender and the receiver, no other third person can read your message. In WhatsApp, all data including messages, audio, video, photos, etc. remains secure through encryption.
For example – When you send a message to a friend on WhatsApp, the message is encrypted and only your friend can read it.
Conclusion
in today's article we talked about Encryption and learned what is encryption? How many types of encryption are there? and how does encryption work?
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