What is cryptography
Cryptography is engaged in the search and study of mathematical methods for transforming information. Cryptography is a science that studies the means of protecting information. And hiding this information from third parties. Another task is to preserve the original information that is transmitted using encryption.
The main object of cryptographic research is information. The goal of science is to hide information. The main way to solve these problems is to use encryption.
A cryptography method can be defined as a set of mappings from one space to another space. Each specific mapping from this set corresponds to encryption with a specific key.
How to be confident in your protection
The cryptographic method of protection is by far the most reliable method of protection, however, even here it is not without the threat from hackers. The fact is that the information itself is protected, and not access to it. The best confidence in your protection is the timely diagnosis of weaknesses. Such diagnostics can be done thanks to the smart contract audit.
At the center of the blockchain network concept is a smart contract. On PaperNet, the smart contract code defines the allowed states of commercial security and the transaction logic that moves the security from one state to another. It is important to trust only a specialist in this matter. A smart contract auditor is a specialist who will do everything but will find that you can still improve your own security.
If you would like to become a new generation superhero or a “white hacker”, then you should definitely plunge into this amazing world of code. If you lack motivation, take a look at the average smart contract auditor salary. This will dispel all your doubts.
Cryptographic encryption as a data protection method
Cryptographic methods of information protection are special methods of encryption, encoding or other transformation of information, as a result of which its content becomes inaccessible without presenting the cryptogram key and reverse transformation.
Encryption is the modification of information in such a way that an outsider cannot extract anything useful from it. It is worth noting that in this case, the one to whom it is addressed can convert it to its original form.
The main goals of encryption:
- Authenticity means that encrypted information cannot be changed or corrupted during transmission or storage.
- Confidentiality. Cryptographic protection of information makes it closed to outsiders.
- Source confirmation. It is authentically known that the encrypted information was sent by a specific person, and not by someone else.
Encryption algorithms
In order for information to be encrypted and then decrypted, an algorithm must be created. An algorithm is a set of rules and actions that are needed to successfully decrypt or encrypt data.
Algorithms are usually divided into the following categories:
- Symmetric cryptosystem. This is the same method when the same key is used for encryption and decryption.
- Asymmetrical. It implies the presence of public and private keys. They are used for encryption and decryption.
- Hash functions. Less research has been written about this information security tool, although it is often used. Great for being sure of the authenticity of the information, as well as who is its author. The peculiarity of hash functions is that they do not have to be decrypted by others, and, as a rule, they do not convey any important information with their help.
All kinds of algorithms are common in use for information security. Symmetric algorithms are less demanding on computing resources and work faster than asymmetric ones. The disadvantage of this type of encryption is the need to transfer the key to the second party. To solve this, hybrid encryption is used along with symmetric encryption. The essence of this approach is that the information is encrypted with a symmetric algorithm, and the decryption key is transmitted over channels protected by asymmetric systems.
How to protect information with cryptographic encryption
Tools for cryptographic information protection – special devices, services or programs that provide encryption and decryption of information in order to protect it from unauthorized processing, access and storage when exchanging it over communication channels, as well as responsible for generating an electronic signature.
When encrypting, each character of a document transmitted over a communication channel is subject to encoding. And the information that needs protection is divided into separate blocks. Each of the blocks is replaced by a code: alphabetic, numeric or combined. Encryption methods such as permutation, substitution, analytic transformation, and gamma are also widely used.
There are two ways to use the cryptographic protection system. The first option is a built-in cryptographic system in the carrier. The second is to install separately. The means of cryptographic information protection built into the media are the means of encoding in the system. They are programmed to work independently. The cryptographic information protection tools that you install separately are applications for your computer’s operating system. An important point, only one copy of the software can be installed on one workstation.
The study of cryptographic methods of protecting information is one of the most relevant in our time. It occupies a large niche in the field of information security and is widely used not only by states, but also by large companies, businesses, and individuals. It occupies a large niche in the field of information security and is widely used not only by states, but also by large companies, businesses, and individuals.
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