2.1 Introduction
Cryptography is an interesting field in the world of computer security. This has been boosted by the increase in computer attacks emanating from the Internet. With large and confidential data being transferred over the Internet, its security must be addressed. It is because of this that encryption techniques are continually evolving. With computer hackers being IT experts who are hungry to get at personal data on the Internet, IT security experts have also made sure that they come up with products to combat and stay ahead of the hackers.
With the availability of good network infrastructure, many people are turning to the Internet to send and store their information. What is more, with the development and the emergence of cloud computing, it is imperative that both individuals and organizations are responsible for the safety and privacy of the data being transferred.
E-mail messages have been one of the main targets for attackers on the Internet. Email usage has increased over many years and phishing attacks have become more frequent and more targeted resulting in dramatic increases in computer fraud. All of these developments require that good security measures be implemented. Cryptography has therefore been given a greater emphasis in the computer security world. Web 2.0 applications which have been aggressively rolled out have created a rise in complicated and secure cryptographic techniques which are hard to crack.
2.2 Definition
Cryptography is the concept and process of hiding information. The process of converting the data into a disguised form so that it is hard to understand is called encryption. The data that results when the plaintext is converted into unreadable gibberish is called ciphertext. T...
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...The text was written with symbols which were confusing so that users could not decipher the message. It was not until 5BC that Spartans, known for their war-like nature and bravery in battles, came up with a way of sending secret messages without their enemies knowing what is going on. They developed a device called the scytale. The process of preparing the message involves winding a narrow strip of parchment or leather around the scytale and then the message was written across it (Jacobson et al, 2004). When the strip is unwound and is transported to the recipient, it displays across it a collection of letters which have no meaning. At the receiving end, the strip is rewound with a scytale of the same diameter. This represents a transposition cipher - where the letters are not changed but only their positions are. This technique is still used by many people today.
Encryption is a strategy for changing data on a computer in a manner that it gets to be distinctly incomprehensible regardless of the possibility that somebody can access a PC with individual information on it.
What is encryption? Encryption is a technological technique that protects and secures the transfer of plain text information between two sources through the use of the internet. This is done by rearranging the text using a mathematical algorithm that renovates the message into an indecipherable form, which can only be unlocked and translated with a use of a key. The strength of the encryption key is measured by its length, which is determined by the number of bits and by the type of encryption program.
This program uses mainly on the concept of cryptology. Cryptology is the study about secret communication between two parties, where there is a presence of a third party known as adversaries, and that party knows nothing about the content of the communication (Rivest, 1990).
There are many terms which have been introduced by the field of encryption. Each of these terms are need to understand this discussion. Plaintext is the original document to be transmitted or stored on a computer system. Ciphertext is the encrypted document. ...
Encryption refers to the translation of data into secret serial characters. It is the most successful medium to achieve security of data. To access an encrypted file or data, a user must have the secret key or password to allow the entry to the data for decryption. Encrypted data is called cipher text whereas an unencrypted data is referred to as plain text.
A Public Key Infrastructure is not a single device or entity; it is a compilation of technology, infrastructure, and practices that enables large scale use of public key cryptography to provide authenticity, confidentiality, integrity, and non-repudiation services (CITE). The word cryptography is derived from the Greek word “kryptos”(CITE), which means hidden. It is the technique in which a cryptographic algorithm is used to take the original plaintext information and then make it unreadable to everyone except for those it was initially intended for by scrambling it into ciphertext. This is known as encryption, and the process that unscrambles the message to make it readable again is called decryption. The National Security Agency (NSA) even defines cryptography as the science and art of making codes and ciphers(CITE NSA 2009). In cryptography, a key or code is used to scramble the message which results in a cipher.
Governments, organizations and people have been circling around the use of encryption technology since the late 1960s when “...businesses started to use computers to share and store information in digital form...” (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, 2016, P. 4, para. 2). Encryption is “...the process of scrambling or enciphering data so it can be read only by someone with the means to return it to its original state” (Internet Society, 2016, p. 1, para. 2). The ability to “scramble” or protect data from being read without authorization highlights the importance of encryption to the world. The new technology for protecting information was initially utilized by governments (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation,
More firms and industries are adopting cloud computing because of its flexibility as well as convenience. The health care industry on the other hand has been very slow when it comes to the adoption of this new trend. However, gradually many hospitals as well as clinics have been able to recognize the benefits of cloud computing and most of them have embraced this new technology to revolutionize their procedures. In the 21st century, it is extremely hard and challenging for physicians to keep track of all the data that exists from the patient records to insurance information. The traditional system is often a burden as one has to transfer physical files from one facility to another. This process is tiresome and cumbersome; it also wastes time and money that could have otherwise been put into other productive uses (Spagnoletti 12). The cloud storage systems often allow organizations to place data on each and every centralized electronic system that can be accessed anytime from anywhere and anytime. The healthcare industry often has to deal with large amounts of data, and the cloud services often help them to manage as well as access health records effectively in order to provide patient care in an effective and efficient manner.
Data encryption refers to the process of transforming electronic information into a scrambled form that can only be read by someone who knows how to translate the code. In nowadays business world, it’s the easiest and most practical way to secure the information that we stored and processed, and it’s significant for our sensitive information. For example, as electronic commerce is popular now, the vendors and retailers must protect the customers’ personal information from hackers or competitors. They also have many business files or contracts that need to be strictly protected. Without data encryption, these important information may fall into wrong hands and be misused by others. Besides, data encryption may be used to secure sensitive information that exists on company networks, or create digital signatures, and help to authorize in business. No one should underestimate the importance of encryption. A little mistake in encryption may make sensitive information revealing, or even result in illegal and criminal accuse.
Codes have been around for centuries ranging from wax, invisible ink, Morse code, the Enigma used by the Germans during World War II and now steganographic. Steganography is the latest form to insidiously hide information over the Internet without a trace of a file being altered. You are able to hide messages within images, voice or music. Steganography is an ancient method of hiding messages. Today messages are hidden in images and music. Steganography can be traced back to the ancient Greek who would write messages on tablets and cover them in wax. This made the tablets look blank and unsuspicious (Kolata, F4). Citizens of ancient civilizations would tattoo messages on their shaved heads. They would then let their hair grown in and travel across enemy lines to deliver the message (Seper, G1). During World War II the Allies placed a ban on flower deliveries with dates, crossword puzzles and even report cards (Kolata, F4) for fear of a message being hidden with in. Steganographers first alter their data by using encryption and then place the image into a pre-select image. Steganographers look for a piece of code that would be the least significant and look the least altered to the human eye (Kolata, F4), being as inconspicuousness and random as possible. This makes the messages undetectable unless you knew that there is a message hidden and you were able to crack the code.
Computer science is a vast field that includes nearly everything relating to computers. Everyday there is information transmitted all over the Internet. Pictures are uploaded, transactions are made on thousands of online retail websites, and banking transactions take place everyday on the Internet. All of these transactions have created a need for secure communications. People wish to keep things like banking, medical, and political information from the eyes of unwelcome parties. This has created a need for cryptography. Cryptography is the science or study of the techniques of secret writing, especially code and cipher systems, and is used by everyone from the average citizen to the government and military.
Data encryption refers to the transformation of data into a structure that makes it unreadable by anyone without a secret decryption key. It ensures that messages can be read only by the planned recipient. Encryption is the procedure of obscuring information to create it unreadable without special information. Only organizations and individuals with an abnormal need for secrecy have actually made good use of it. Nowadays, encryption is one of the most important technologies for maintaining your privacy and the security of important information. This helps out greatly especially when E-Commerce is being used.
The internet allows people to communicate sensitive information, and if received in the wrong hands can cause many problems for that person. Cryptography is the study or science of techniques of secret writing and message hiding. Cryptography constitutes any method in which someone attempts to hide a message, or the meaning, in some medium. One specific element of cryptography is encryption, which hides the data or information by transforming it into undecipherable code. Encryption uses a specified key to perform the data transformation.
Cryptography is the common term given to the art and science of keeping the text messages secret. It is not the purpose to evaluate in detail any of the mathematical algorithms that are used in the cryptographic process, but instead to provide a general view of the process and its uses. To introduce briefly one of the fundamental building blocks of all network security, one must know the process of encryption and decryption. A process that transforms the given information (the plaintext) into a seemingly meaningless form (the ciphertext) using a mathematical algorithm and some secret information (the encryption key). The process of decryption revokes this transformation using a mathematical algorithm, in conjunction with some secret value (the decryption key) that reverses the effects of the encryption algorithm. An encryption algorithm and all its possible keys, plaintexts and cipher texts is known as a cryptosystem or cryptographic system. Figure 4 illustrates the process.
In this era when the Internet provides essential communication between tens of millions of people and is being increasingly used as a tool for security becomes a tremendously important issue to deal with, So it is important to deal with it. There are many aspects to security and many applications, ranging from secure commerce and payments to private communications and protecting passwords. One essential aspect for secure communications is that of cryptography. But it is important to note that while cryptography is necessary for secure communications, it is not by itself sufficient. Cryptography is the science of writing in secret code and is an ancient art; In the old age people use to send encoded message which can be understand by the receiver only who know the symbolic and relative meaning of that encoded message .The first documented use of cryptography in writing dates back to circa 1900 B.C. Egyptian scribe used non-standard hieroglyphs in an inscription. After writing was invented cryptography appeared spontaneously with applications ranging from diplomatic missives to war-time battle plans. It is no surprise, then, that new forms of cryptography came soon after the widespread development of computer communications. In telecommunications and data cryptography is necessary when communicating in any untrusted medium, which includes any network, particularly the Internet [1].Within the context of any application-to-application communication, there are some security requirements, including: