Cryptography in Computer Networks

Cryptography refers to the science and art of transforming messages to make them secure and immune to attacks. It is a method of storing and transmitting data in a particular form so that only those for whom it is intended can read and process it. Cryptography not only protects data from theft or alteration but can also be used for user authentication.

Components

There are various components of cryptography which are as follows

Plaintext and Ciphertext

The original message, before being transformed, is called plaintext. After the message is transformed, it is called ciphertext. An encryption algorithm transforms the plaintext into ciphertext; a decryption algorithm transforms the ciphertext back into plaintext. The sender uses an encryption algorithm, and the receiver uses a decryption algorithm.

Cipher

We refer to encryption and decryption algorithms as ciphers. The term cipher is also used to refer to different categories of algorithms in cryptography. This is not to say that every sender-receiver pair needs their very own unique cipher for secure communication. On the contrary, one cipher can serve millions of communicating pairs.

Key

A key is a number (or a set of numbers) that the cipher, as an algorithm, operates on. To encrypt a message, we need an encryption algorithm, an encryption key, and plaintext. These create the ciphertext. To decrypt a message, we need a decryption algorithm, a decryption key, and the ciphertext. These reveal the original plaintext.

Types

There are two types of cryptography which are as follows

Symmetric Key Cryptography

In symmetric-key cryptography, the same key is used by both parties. The sender uses this key and an encryption algorithm to encrypt data; the receiver uses the same key and the corresponding decryption algorithm to decrypt the data.

Asymmetric-Key Cryptography

In asymmetric or public-key cryptography, there are two keys: a private key and a public key. The private key is kept by the receiver. The public key is announced to the public.

In public-key encryption/decryption, the public key that is used for encryption is different from the private key that is used for decryption. The public key is available to the public, and the private key is available only to an individual.