Basics of Cryptography
Cryptography is the technique of using codes to secure information. The codes are written in a way that can be understood only by the person it is intended for and the person who wrote it. It is used to stop unauthorized access.
Features of cryptography:
- The information in it is confidential and can be understood by the person it is intended for.
- The integrity of the information is maintained as it cannot be altered while communicating.
- The decision to send the information cannot be undone.
- It provides end-to-end authentication.
Types of cryptography:
Different types of cryptography are as follows:
- Symmetric key cryptography
In this type of cryptography, the sender and the receiver use a single key. This method is faster and simpler.
- Asymmetric key cryptography
In this type of cryptography, a pair of keys is used by the sender and the receiver to decode the message. There is a public key and a private key, one needs both of them to decode the message.
- Hash Functions
No keys are used in this type of cryptography. A hash value is calculated of a certain fixed length as plain texts, making it impossible to recover the contents of the plain text.
Reference