Cryptography
Cryptography is used for secure communication to in most cases prevent information from being stolen. Encryption is the process of encoding or scrambling information. This process transforms the original information, known as plaintext, into a new form known as ciphertext. Preferably, only approved parties can decipher or decrypt a ciphertext back to plaintext and access the original information. For example, most databases use encryption to secure credit card numbers, addresses, social security numbers, etc. The two types of encryption asymmetric and symmetric. I am just going to focus on symmetric encryption in this blog post.
Symmetric encryption for cryptography that uses the same cryptographic keys for both encryption of plaintext and decryption of ciphertext. The keys may be the same or there may be a simple change between the two keys.
DES stands for the data encryption standard. DES is a symmetric-key algorithm for the encryption of digital data. Although its short key length of 56 bits makes it too insecure for applications, it has been important in the advancement of cryptography. Here is an example of DES encryption with the word password.
Word: password
DES encryption: 6pYmTRrtkXPmtGJ/+5lvBA==
Blowfish encryption is a symmetric-key block cipher. Blowfish encryption is stronger than DES encryption. Here is an example of blowfish encryption with the word password.
Word: password
blowfish encryption: 9cjpbYarDcdwFJNWWHradg==
AES stands for advanced encryption standard. AES is stronger than blowfish encryption. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) started the development of AES when it announced the need for a replacement to the Data Encryption Standard (DES). Here is an example of AES encryption with the word password.
Word: password
AES256 encryption: mCMsNIDWcAnHZESAzIoQFg==
I used this website for encryption and decryption: https://encode-decode.com/aes256-encrypt-online/
Symmetric encryption is great for data at rest. For example, if your laptop uses full disk encryption then if your laptop is stolen it will be a lot harder to get your information. Encryption can also be used for evil things. Ransomeware encrypts the victim’s files and then the threat actors usually ask for money to decrypt files. Encryption is very important to cybersecurity. Thank you for visiting the blog.
