Data encryption is the process of converting plaintext data into unreadable ciphertext. Encryption can be done in various ways, with varying degrees of success. Encryption is used to keep data safe from prying eyes, and is used by banks, governments, and email programs. Strong encryption methods can take a long time to crack, and some encryption protocols are standardized while others use custom keys.
Data encryption is a process in which plaintext data is converted into ciphertext so that it cannot be read. More generally known as “encryption,” this process can be done in a variety of ways and with varying degrees of success. Some of the best data encryption systems can last for ages, while other types of decryption can be cracked in minutes or even seconds by people skilled in such activities. In the digital age, people rely heavily on data encryption on a daily basis. It is very likely that you have received or sent encrypted data at some point today, even if you have not directly encrypted or decrypted the data.
In this process, a perfectly normal piece of plaintext that can be read by anyone is converted so that it can only be read by someone with a key. One of the simplest forms of data encryption is a simple alphabet substitution, where the letters of the alphabet are scrambled to create a key. For example, one might decide to move the letters of the alphabet five places so that “E” stands for “A”, “F” for “B” and so on for a simple key, or the letters could be assigned a random to make text more difficult to decipher without the key.
An alphabetic substitution is usually quite easy to break; in fact, many major newspapers have a simple on-page replacement of puzzles for people to solve. Stronger methods of data encryption can be used to make a code more difficult to break. With complex codes, people can try to use brute force to crack the encryption and eventually they might succeed, but it will take a long time. Many encryption methods focus on protecting the key and being able to freely view the encrypted data, with the argument that once encrypted, the data is harmless, as long as people can’t get the key.
There are a number of reasons why you need to encrypt your data, most of which are based on keeping your data safe from other people’s eyes. Banks, for example, send encrypted data about their customers back and forth, while governments rely on encryption to send secure messages to foreign embassies. Most email programs offer data encryption during sending and receiving so that emails cannot be read by third parties, as do sites that handle personal information such as addresses and credit card numbers .
Some encryption protocols are standardized so that people can easily communicate with each other, while in other cases, a key may be developed specifically for particular people to use, and the key is not standardized to make cracking more difficult. Custom keys were once the only way to encrypt data, until shared-key cryptography allowed people to exchange information about a key across an open network without revealing the key’s contents.
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