Cryptography, or cryptology, is the study of hiding information. While this seems simple, keep in mind that modern cryptography is a combination of computer science, engineering and mathematics, a complex algorithm designed to protect some of today's most vital information. From the ATM card in your wallet to the information you type into your computer to access your bank account, all of this is protected by cryptography.

What Is It?

Encryption is part of what makes up cryptography. This is the process of taking words and data and converting it into an unidentifiable collection of characters that is impossible to decipher just from looking at it. Decryption is the process of taking that gibberish information and converting it back into usable information. In simplistic terms, a cipher, which is a pair of algorithms, creates the complex encryption and then reverses it as necessary. A key is used to control the algorithm and the secret parameters called the communicants are the guidelines. Codes, which are the replacement of plain text information with a code word, is rarely used today. More advanced processes are used to help provide higher levels of protection.

A History of Cryptography

Take a step back and look at the history of cryptography, which does not start with the invention of the computer. During the earliest times in our history, very few people could read and therefore there was little use for cryptography. However, once literacy became more important to modern society, methods of ciphers began to pop up. A popular older version of this method is called transposition ciphers where a system of replacing letters or groups of letters from words with other letters was used.

Another version was called Caesar cipher. In this method, a letter was replaced with one found several places away in the alphabet. Julius Caesar used it with a shift of three. There were other versions as well. However, the problem was that many of these methods could be detected by cryptanalysis. Later, the development of non-frequency based ciphers became popular. When some type of frequency was not used, it became nearly impossible to break the code without understanding the knowledge that the cipher used and the key used. Computers took this science to a whole new level, providing numerous ways of breaking apart text and making it nearly impossible to decipher.

Present Day Cryptography

When you come into the 20th century, and the use of computers, you will find two distinctive types of cryptography: symmetric key and public key. Take a closer look:

Symmetric Key is a type of encryption method which occurs when both the sender and the receiver share the same key. In other words, this method of encryption encompasses any instance when two parties share the necessary knowledge to decipher a message, data, etc. This type of encryption was the only type known to the public prior to 1976.

In this method, ciphers relate to the study of block ciphers or stream ciphers and to the application. A block cipher takes a block of plaintext and a key and changes it. The outcome is a block of text the same size as the original. The US government has for one, used two specific types of block cipher designs called Data Encryption Standard or DES and Advanced Encryption Standard or AES. DES is still considered secure especially when the triple-DES variant is used.

Public Key cryptography is the second common type in modern society. This method used the same key for the encryption as well as the decryption but in this method, a message may have a different key than others do. The largest downside to this method of encryption is the management of the key. Keeping these safe is critical though all communicating parties need to share in the information. Further, the number of keys required for any message will increase as the square of the number of network members. As you can imagine, this complicates the process significantly.

What happened in 1976? Two men named Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman developed the idea of a public key, which was also called an asymmetric key. In this they developed the idea of two different related keys, though mathematically related, are used. These were called a public key and a private key. The public key is such that the calculation of the data relies on both the public key and the private key. Both keys are created separately and secretly as an interrelated pair.

This revolutionary idea was important for the world of cryptography. In this method, the public key is obtained through free distribution. The private key, which is paired with the public key, is a secret. The public key generally works as a tool for encryption while the private key is used mainly for decryptions. There were variations of this.

When you look at our products, you will find that most of our public products are symmetric keys. However, our products are designed with this basic theory but with modifications that enhance the security used. The modifications we use further improve the overall security of these systems.

How can you benefit from the use of cryptography in your daily life? This service becomes incredibly important in many instances.

• Email is a good example of cryptography. How many do you send each day with information that is personal and private? Emails travel through the Internet not in an actual letter style (as you would get in postal mail), but in the form of encryption.
• When you visit a website and wish to purchase something, you may know to look for the SSL or Secure Sockets Layer, of security on the site. This shows that the information you enter on the site is protected. This too is another indication.

From your computer VPN number to your ATM password, these are all forms of cryptography that you likely take very seriously. What you also want to realize is that without some layer of protection, your information could be lost.