Decrypting Cryptography Essay -- E-Commerce Internet Papers

Decrypting Cryptography Cryptography is the study of techniques and implementation dedicated to the solving of complex problems. Today, its primary use is to protect sensitive information by maintaining the privacy of communications. In general, the secret information is transformed into an altered text by a process referred to as encryption, thus preventing the message from being read by anyone besides the intended receiver. It is this cipher text that is transmitted to the intended recipient, who must use the proper key to reverse the process, that is convert the encoded message back into its plain text form. Cryptography has seen a recent rise in popularity due to the expanding nature of communications technology, the Internet, and the inherent security needs of such systems. Cryptography has many practical uses besides providing a code for secret communications. A major contributor to the many current applications of cryptology is the status of computers. Cryptology provides the tools to create a large-scale network of individuals who can communicate with each other confidentially without the threat of an unintended party being able to receive the transmission. The electronically intangible nature of e-mail messages makes them particularly susceptible to attack. Cryptography provides encryption for e-mails, so that only the intended recipient can access the plain text. Cryptographic applications have been augmented with the recent increase of business conducted over the Internet, otherwise known as e-commerce. Online banking, brokerage accounts, and shopping have increased the need for protection against fraud, theft and corruption of the vital information that is sent via the Internet with each electronic transa... ...lobe. Whether you are trading stocks at the office, talking on a cellular phone in the car, or just purchasing a CD at home, cryptography provides the necessary security to insure that your sensitive information will not fall into the wrong hands. Works Cited [1] Daepp, Ulrich. â€Å"Public Key Encryption Scheme.† 14 October 1999. [2] â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions About Today’s Cryptology.† RSA Security. [FTP] ftp://ftp.rsasecurity.com/pub/labsfaq/labsfaq4.pdf. 1 December 1999. [3] â€Å"Leonard Adleman.† The University of Southern California. [WWW] http://www-hto.usc.edu/people/Adleman.html. 3 December 1999. [4] McHugh, Josh. â€Å"People-Innovators, Smart People, Smart Ideas: Leonard Adleman.† Forbes 7 July 1997. [5] â€Å"RSA† [WWW] http://www.whatis.com/rsa.htm. 3 December 1999 [6] Shamir, Adi. â€Å"RSA for Paranoids.† CryptoBytes vol.1, no.3 Autumn 1995: 1-4.