Encryption
hideIn cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information (referred to as plaintext) using an algorithm (called cipher) to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information (in cryptography, referred to as ciphertext). In many contexts, the word encryption also implicitly refers to the reverse process, decryption (e.g. “software for encryption” can typically also perform decryption), to make the encrypted information readable again (i.e. to make it unencrypted).
Encryption has long been used by militaries and governments to facilitate secret communication. Encryption is now commonly used in protecting information within many kinds of civilian systems. For example, in 2007 the U.S. government reported that 71% of companies surveyed utilized encryption for some of their data in transit. Encryption can be used to protect data "at rest", such as files on computers and storage devices (e.g. USB flash drives). In recent years there have been numerous reports of confidential data such as customers' personal records being exposed through loss or theft of laptops or backup drives. Encrypting such files at rest helps protect them should physical security measures fail. Digital rights management systems which prevent unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted material and protect software against reverse engineering (see also copy protection) are another somewhat different example of using encryption on data at rest.
Encryption is also used to protect data in transit, for example data being transferred via networks (e.g. the Internet, e-commerce), mobile telephones, wireless microphones, wireless intercom systems, Bluetooth devices and bank automatic teller machines. There have been numerous reports of data in transit being intercepted in recent years. Encrypting data in transit also helps to secure it as it is often difficult to physically secure all access to networks.
Encryption, by itself, can protect the confidentiality of messages, but other techniques are still needed to protect the integrity and authenticity of a message; for example, verification of a message authentication code (MAC) or a digital signature. Standards and cryptographic software and hardware to perform encryption are widely available, but successfully using encryption to ensure security may be a challenging problem. A single slip-up in system design or execution can allow successful attacks. Sometimes an adversary can obtain unencrypted information without directly undoing the encryption. See, e.g., traffic analysis, TEMPEST, or Trojan horse.
One of the earliest public key encryption applications was called Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), according to Paul Rubens. It was written in 1991 by Phil Zimmermann and was purchased by Network Associates (now PGP Corporation) in 1997.
There are a number of reasons why an encryption product may not be suitable in all cases. First, e-mail must be digitally signed at the point it was created to provide non-repudiation for some legal purposes, otherwise the sender could argue that it was tampered with after it left their computer but before it was encrypted at a gateway according to Paul. An encryption product may also not be practical when mobile users need to send e-mail from outside the corporate network.
For more information about Encryption, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with encryption
Secure computers aren't so secure
Technology / Computer Sciences
Oct 30, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (13) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Even well-defended computers can leak shocking amounts of private data. MIT researchers seek out exotic attacks in order to shut them down.
New digital security program doesn't protect as promised
Technology / Computer Sciences
Sep 29, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Texas at Austin scientists have shown that they can break "Vanish," a program that promised to self-destruct computer data, such as emails and photographs, and thereby protect a person's privacy.
First-ever calculation performed on optical quantum computer chip
Sep 03, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (34) |
10
(PhysOrg.com) -- A primitive quantum computer that uses single particles of light (photons) whizzing through a silicon chip has performed its first mathematical calculation. This is the first time a calculation ...
WPA Wi-Fi Encryption Cracked In Sixty Seconds
Aug 28, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (9) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two Japanese computer scientists have developed a way to crack the WPA encryption between wireless routes and devices in 60 seconds.
BioVault locks up biometrics: Using biometrics for encryption, digital signatures
Technology / Computer Sciences
Jul 31, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
A system that allows biometric data to be used to create a secret key for data encryption has been developed by researchers in South Africa. They describe details of the new technology in the International Journal of Electronic Se ...
A police woman fights quantum hacking and cracking
Technology / Computer Sciences
Jul 30, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (8) |
1
The first desktop computers changed the way we managed data forever. Three decades after their introduction, we rely on them to manage our time, social life and finances -- and to keep this information safe ...
Study finds widespread privacy failings in online social networks
Jul 21, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Furious competition between social networking sites is compromising the protection of users' data, a Cambridge University study has concluded.
Capturing images in non-traditional way may benefit AF
Jul 14, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
0
New research in imaging may lead to advancements for the Air Force in data encryption and wide-area photography with high resolution.
Researcher Discovers Method to Fully Process Encrypted Data Without Knowing its Content
Jun 25, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (17) |
9
(PhysOrg.com) -- An IBM Researcher has solved a thorny mathematical problem that has confounded scientists since the invention of public-key encryption several decades ago. The breakthrough, called "privacy homomorphism," ...
Researchers make breakthrough in the quantum control of light
May 29, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (15) |
0
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently demonstrated a breakthrough in the quantum control of photons, the energy quanta of light. This is a significant result in quantum computation, and could eventually ...
Gadgets: Back everything up with a single touch
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
May 13, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
SanDisk Corp. has added the SanDisk Ultra Backup USB 2.0 portable flash drive to its long line of USB flash drives. This is the first to feature a solution to back up home or office data with the touch of ...
Hollywood, RealNetworks square off on DVD copying
Apr 24, 2009 |
2 / 5 (1) |
5
(AP) -- Hollywood calls it "rent, rip and return" and contends it's one of the biggest technological threats to the movie industry's annual $20 billion DVD market - software that allows you to copy a film ...
Fighting tomorrow's hackers
Technology / Computer Sciences
Feb 05, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
One of the themes of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is the need to keep vital and sensitive information secure. Today, we take it for granted that most of our information is safe because it's encrypted. Every time we use a ...
