Image of Cryptography

Cryptography

Topic

The science of secure communication. It is a field facing significant disruption from the development of quantum computing, creating both threats and opportunities.


entitydetail.created_at

8/19/2025, 9:47:24 PM

entitydetail.last_updated

8/19/2025, 9:53:07 PM

entitydetail.research_retrieved

8/19/2025, 9:53:07 PM

Summary

Cryptography, also known as cryptology, is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adversaries, drawing from diverse fields like mathematics, computer science, and information security. Its core concepts include data confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation, with widespread applications in areas such as electronic commerce, digital currencies, and military communications. Historically focused on encryption, modern cryptography relies on mathematical theory and computational hardness assumptions to design algorithms that are practically unbreakable. However, the emergence of quantum computing, exemplified by Google's Willow chip and Shor's Algorithm, poses a significant threat to current encryption standards like RSA and SHA-256, necessitating an urgent transition to post-quantum encryption. The growth of cryptographic technology has also led to complex legal challenges, with some governments classifying it as a weapon and imposing restrictions on its use and export, while also enabling compelled disclosure of encryption keys in certain jurisdictions.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Etymology

    From Ancient Greek: kryptós ("hidden, secret") and graphein ("to write") or -logia ("study")

  • Applications

    Electronic commerce, Chip-based payment cards, Digital currencies, Computer passwords, Military communications, Digital rights management, Copyright infringement disputes, Cryptocurrency, End-to-end message authentication (WhatsApp), Digital signatures

  • Modern basis

    Mathematical theory, Computer science practice, Computational hardness assumptions

  • Also known as

    Cryptology

  • Primary goals

    Data confidentiality, Data integrity, Authentication, Non-repudiation

  • Security type

    Computationally secure

  • Threatened by

    Quantum Computing

  • Future direction

    Post-Quantum Encryption

  • Historical focus

    Encryption

  • Legal restrictions

    Limits or prohibitions on use and export, Compelled disclosure of encryption keys

  • Disciplines involved

    Mathematics, Computer science, Information security, Electrical engineering, Digital signal processing, Physics

  • Threatened standards

    RSA standard, SHA-256

  • Specific threat algorithm

    Shor's Algorithm

  • Legal classification by some governments

    Weapon

Timeline
  • Prior to the early 20th century, cryptography was mainly concerned with linguistic and lexicographic patterns and was effectively synonymous with encryption. (Source: Wikipedia, DBPedia, Web Search)

    Unknown

  • Development of rotor cipher machines during World War I marked an increase in complexity of cryptographic methods. (Source: Wikipedia, DBPedia)

    1914-07-28

  • The advent of computers during World War II further increased the complexity and varied applications of cryptography. (Source: Wikipedia, DBPedia)

    1939-09-01

  • In the Information Age, the growth of cryptographic technology raised legal issues, leading many governments to classify it as a weapon and impose restrictions on its use and export, and in some cases, compel disclosure of encryption keys. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia, DBPedia)

    Unknown

  • Advancements in quantum computing, such as Google's Willow (Quantum Chip) and the development of Shor's Algorithm, accelerate the threat to modern encryption standards like RSA and SHA-256, making the transition to Post-Quantum Encryption urgent. (Source: Related Documents, Summary)

    Ongoing

Cryptography

Cryptography, or cryptology (from Ancient Greek: κρυπτός, romanized: kryptós "hidden, secret"; and γράφειν graphein, "to write", or -λογία -logia, "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. More generally, cryptography is about constructing and analyzing protocols that prevent third parties or the public from reading private messages. Modern cryptography exists at the intersection of the disciplines of mathematics, computer science, information security, electrical engineering, digital signal processing, physics, and others. Core concepts related to information security (data confidentiality, data integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation) are also central to cryptography. Practical applications of cryptography include electronic commerce, chip-based payment cards, digital currencies, computer passwords, and military communications. Cryptography prior to the modern age was effectively synonymous with encryption, converting readable information (plaintext) to unintelligible nonsense text (ciphertext), which can only be read by reversing the process (decryption). The sender of an encrypted (coded) message shares the decryption (decoding) technique only with the intended recipients to preclude access from adversaries. The cryptography literature often uses the names "Alice" (or "A") for the sender, "Bob" (or "B") for the intended recipient, and "Eve" (or "E") for the eavesdropping adversary. Since the development of rotor cipher machines in World War I and the advent of computers in World War II, cryptography methods have become increasingly complex and their applications more varied. Modern cryptography is heavily based on mathematical theory and computer science practice; cryptographic algorithms are designed around computational hardness assumptions, making such algorithms hard to break in actual practice by any adversary. While it is theoretically possible to break into a well-designed system, it is infeasible in actual practice to do so. Such schemes, if well designed, are therefore termed "computationally secure". Theoretical advances (e.g., improvements in integer factorization algorithms) and faster computing technology require these designs to be continually reevaluated and, if necessary, adapted. Information-theoretically secure schemes that provably cannot be broken even with unlimited computing power, such as the one-time pad, are much more difficult to use in practice than the best theoretically breakable but computationally secure schemes. The growth of cryptographic technology has raised a number of legal issues in the Information Age. Cryptography's potential for use as a tool for espionage and sedition has led many governments to classify it as a weapon and to limit or even prohibit its use and export. In some jurisdictions where the use of cryptography is legal, laws permit investigators to compel the disclosure of encryption keys for documents relevant to an investigation. Cryptography also plays a major role in digital rights management and copyright infringement disputes with regard to digital media.

Web Search Results
  • Cryptography

    Cryptography, or cryptology (from Ancient Greek: κρυπτός, romanized: kryptós "hidden, secret"; and γράφειν graphein, "to write", or -λογία -logia, "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adversarial "Adversary (cryptography)") behavior. More generally, cryptography is about constructing and analyzing protocols that prevent third parties or the public from reading private messages. Modern cryptography exists at the intersection [...] Until modern times, cryptography referred almost exclusively to "encryption", which is the process of converting ordinary information (called plaintext) into an unintelligible form (called ciphertext). Decryption is the reverse, in other words, moving from the unintelligible ciphertext back to plaintext. A cipher (or cypher) is a pair of algorithms that carry out the encryption and the reversing decryption. The detailed operation of a cipher is controlled both by the algorithm and, in each [...] Prior to the early 20th century, cryptography was mainly concerned with linguistic and lexicographic patterns. Since then cryptography has broadened in scope, and now makes extensive use of mathematical subdisciplines, including information theory, computational complexity, statistics, combinatorics, abstract algebra, number theory, and finite mathematics. Cryptography is also a branch of engineering, but an unusual one since it deals with active, intelligent, and malevolent opposition; other

  • What is Cryptography?

    ## What is Cryptography? Cryptography is the practice of protecting information through the use of coded algorithms, hashes, and signatures. The information can be at rest (such as a file on a hard drive), in transit (such as electronic communication exchanged between two or more parties), or in use (while computing on data). Cryptography has four primary goals: [...] Cryptocurrency is a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system, rather than by a centralized authority. Cryptocurrency is an example of an application of cryptography.

  • Cryptography and its Types - GeeksforGeeks

    Cryptography is a technique of securing information and communications using codes to ensure confidentiality, integrity and authentication. Thus, preventing unauthorized access to information. The prefix "crypt" means "hidden" and the suffix "graphy" means "writing". In Cryptography, the techniques that are used to protect information are obtained from mathematical concepts and a set of rule-based calculations known as algorithms to convert messages in ways that make it hard to decode them. [...] Cryptography Introduction Cryptography is the study and practice of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties called adversaries. It deals with developing and analyzing protocols that prevents malicious third parties from retrieving information being shared between two entities thereby following th 4 min readHistory of Cryptography Humans have two basic needs when we take about communication. One is the need to communicate selectively, to communicate and share [...] Cryptocurrencies: Cryptography is heavily used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to protect transactions, thwart fraud, and maintain the network's integrity. Complex algorithms and cryptographic keys are used to safeguard transactions, making it nearly hard to tamper with or forge the transactions.

  • What is Cryptography? Definition, Importance, Types

    Cryptography is the process of hiding or coding information so that only the person a message was intended for can read it. The art of cryptography has been used to code messages for thousands of years and continues to be used in bank cards, computer passwords, and ecommerce. [...] A common cryptography definition is the practice of coding information to ensure only the person that a message was written for can read and process the information. This cybersecurity practice, also known as cryptology, combines various disciplines like computer science, engineering, and mathematics to create complex codes that hide the true meaning of a message. [...] Individuals and organizations use cryptography on a daily basis to protect their privacy and keep their conversations and data confidential. Cryptography ensures confidentiality by encrypting sent messages using an algorithm with a key only known to the sender and recipient. A common example of this is the messaging tool WhatsApp, which encrypts conversations between people to ensure they cannot be hacked or intercepted.

  • The 3 main types of cryptography - IBM

    Derived from the Greek words for “hidden writing,” cryptography is the science of obscuring transmitted information so that it may only be read by the intended recipient. The applications of cryptography are endless. From the quotidian end-to-end message authentication on WhatsApp to the practical digital signatures on legal forms or even the CPU-draining ciphers that are used for mining cryptocurrency, cryptography became an essential aspect of the digital world and a critical cybersecurity

Cryptography, or cryptology (from Ancient Greek: κρυπτός, romanized: kryptós "hidden, secret"; and γράφειν graphein, "to write", or -λογία -logia, "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. More generally, cryptography is about constructing and analyzing protocols that prevent third parties or the public from reading private messages. Modern cryptography exists at the intersection of the disciplines of mathematics, computer science, information security, electrical engineering, digital signal processing, physics, and others. Core concepts related to information security (data confidentiality, data integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation) are also central to cryptography. Practical applications of cryptography include electronic commerce, chip-based payment cards, digital currencies, computer passwords, and military communications. Cryptography prior to the modern age was effectively synonymous with encryption, converting readable information (plaintext) to unintelligible nonsense text (ciphertext), which can only be read by reversing the process (decryption). The sender of an encrypted (coded) message shares the decryption (decoding) technique only with intended recipients to preclude access from adversaries. The cryptography literature often uses the names "Alice" (or "A") for the sender, "Bob" (or "B") for the intended recipient, and "Eve" (or "E") for the eavesdropping adversary. Since the development of rotor cipher machines in World War I and the advent of computers in World War II, cryptography methods have become increasingly complex and their applications more varied. Modern cryptography is heavily based on mathematical theory and computer science practice; cryptographic algorithms are designed around computational hardness assumptions, making such algorithms hard to break in actual practice by any adversary. While it is theoretically possible to break into a well-designed system, it is infeasible in actual practice to do so. Such schemes, if well designed, are therefore termed "computationally secure"; theoretical advances (e.g., improvements in integer factorization algorithms) and faster computing technology require these designs to be continually reevaluated, and if necessary, adapted. Information-theoretically secure schemes that provably cannot be broken even with unlimited computing power, such as the one-time pad, are much more difficult to use in practice than the best theoretically breakable, but computationally secure, schemes. The growth of cryptographic technology has raised a number of legal issues in the Information Age. Cryptography's potential for use as a tool for espionage and sedition has led many governments to classify it as a weapon and to limit or even prohibit its use and export. In some jurisdictions where the use of cryptography is legal, laws permit investigators to compel the disclosure of encryption keys for documents relevant to an investigation. Cryptography also plays a major role in digital rights management and copyright infringement disputes in regard to digital media.

DBPedia thumbnail
Location Data

Photography, cryptography, 01/19, Željava, Općina Plitvička Jezera, Ličko-senjska županija, Hrvatska

tunnel

Coordinates: 44.8316240, 15.7575168

Open Map