Chapter 7: Cryptography

What is Cryptography?

• Cryptography is a method of storing and transmitting data in a form that only those it is intended for can read and process (Harris, 759).
• Cryptography is considered the science of protecting information by encoding it into a unreadable format.
• It is an effective way of protecting sensitive information because cryptography is stored in media or transmitted through entrusted network communication paths.
• The goal is to hide information from unauthorized individuals, but it is unattainable because with enough time, resources, and motivations hackers will break most algorithms and revel the encoded information.
• A realistic goal of Cryptography is to make obtaining information too work-intensive or time-consuming to be worthwhile to the attacker.