서울흥신소 Cryptography, or cryptology, is the study and practice of techniques that keep data, messages and other electronic information private from third parties. It can also protect communications that traverse untrusted networks.
The earliest forms of cryptography were simple ciphers like Caesar’s cipher, where each letter in the message was replaced by another letter seven spaces down the alphabet. Modern cryptography uses algorithms and secret keys to encrypt and decrypt data.
Encryption
Encryption is a key component to modern data security, providing the foundation for digital privacy and protection of sensitive electronic information such as financial transactions, communications, email, medical records and passwords. Using sophisticated mathematical algorithms, encryption scrambles the original information into a form that is unreadable without the encryption key.
In a purely digital world, this is essential to keeping private messages and transactions secure and out of the hands of unauthorized entities such as hackers or government surveillance programs. A number of different types of encryption are available, differing in complexity and strength. Encryption is used at the application layer, at the network transfer link level and at the data link layer, in addition to being applied to entire networks through protocol security services such as Internet Protocol Security (IPsec).
To encrypt, or decrypt, information, the original piece of information, known as plain text, must be passed through an encryption algorithm. These algorithms are complex mathematical operations that transform the original data into a new, unreadable format called cipher text. Using the encryption key that was provided by the original sender, the recipient can then decrypt this cipher text back into its original form.
The time and effort required to encrypt and decrypt information is what makes this type of security important. However, this is still not a complete 서울흥신소 solution to protecting information as it is stored on devices and in transit on networks.
Digital Signatures
Digital signatures are mathematical methods that verify the authenticity and integrity of a message or document. The process involves taking the data that is to be signed and creating a unique one-way hash of it by using a computational algorithm. The hash is then encrypted with the signer’s private key to create a digital signature. This signature is then verified by a recipient who compares it to the original hash to ensure that it has not been altered since it was signed.
The signatures also include a time stamp that provides the date and time at which the signature was created. This is an important aspect of a digital signature because it enables the receiver to validate that the signature was not added to or changed after it was sent.
As the world moves toward a more remote work environment, cybersecurity teams need to find flexible and scalable solutions to verify user authentication. Digital signatures offer a robust solution to this challenge.
The financial sector relies heavily on digital signatures to speed up processes such as contract signing, paperless banking, loan processing and insurance documentation. It’s a highly regulated industry that must comply with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act and state Uniform Electronic Transactions Act regulations, along with guidance and oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
Public Key
A cryptographic key can have different properties based on its intended purpose. It is important to understand the different types of keys and their functions.
In public key encryption, one of the keys (called a public key) is published in an open directory or on the internet while the other key is kept private. Anyone can encrypt data with the public key but it can only be decrypted with the corresponding private key.
The private and public keys are mathematically related through the product of two very large prime numbers. It is very hard to guess the private key from the public key, which is why it is important to keep it private. It is also extremely difficult to brute force (check all combinations of numbers) a public key because there are more than 40 x 1031 different possible primes in a 128 bit key, so it would take an eternity even with the fastest computers available today.
It is also important to note that a public key can be verified by its corresponding private key, which can be used to prove that the signatory actually signed the message. This is a strong form of repudiation, which is not possible with traditional secret key systems where it is possible for attackers to claim they received a message when they didn’t.
Private Key Cryptography
Cryptography is like a toolbox filled with various tools for secure communication. It includes encryption (converting readable data into unreadable form to protect it), decryption (converting the unscrambled data back into readable form), digital signatures and zero-knowledge proofs (a method for verifying information).
One of the first cryptosystems was private key cryptography, which uses a single secret key to encrypt and decrypt. It is still in use today because it’s relatively fast and easy to implement.
However, it’s not without problems. One of the most important issues is key management. Private keys need to be distributed to individuals, maintained securely and ideally, retired after their useful life is over. This can be hard, and if not done correctly it can open up the door to attackers.
The length of a key also plays a big role. As computers have gotten faster and more powerful, the length of a key has to get longer too in order to be secure against brute force attacks.
It’s also important to have a system in place for managing these keys and ensuring they are changed regularly to reduce the risk of loss or compromise. This process is called key rotation and it’s a fundamental part of maintaining the security of an organization’s private keys. It is also a critical element for making sure that any data encrypted using an old key can be decrypted with a new key.