In cryptography, Encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decipher a ciphertext back to plaintext and access the original information. Encryption does not itself prevent interference but denies the intelligible content to a would-be interceptor.
Encryption serves as a mechanism to ensure confidentiality. Since data may be visible on the Internet, sensitive information such as passwords and personal communication may be exposed to potential interceptors. The process of encrypting and decrypting messages involves keys. The two main types of keys in cryptographic systems are symmetric-key and public-key (also known as asymmetric-key).
In symmetric-key encryption schemes, the encryption and decryption keys are the same. Communicating parties must have the same key in order to achieve secure communication. The German Enigma Machine utilized a new symmetric-key each day for encoding and decoding messages. In public-key or asymmetric-key encryption schemes, the encryption key is published for anyone to use and encrypt messages. However, only the receiving party has access to the decryption key that enables messages to be read.
—Wikipedia, “Encryption“
Last year, three mathematicians published a viable method for hiding the inner workings of software. The paper was a culmination of close to two decades of work by multiple teams around the world to show that concept could work. The quest now is to find a way to make indistinguishability obfuscation (iO) efficient enough to become a practical reality.
Better Security Through Obfuscation Read More
As the Signal protocol becomes the industry standard, it’s worth understanding what sets it apart from other forms of end-to-end encrypted messaging.
Hacker Lexicon: What Is the Signal Encryption Protocol? Read More
The term we use for bad cryptography products is “snake oil,” which was the turn-of-the-century American term for quack medicine.
Bruce Schneier’s List of Snake Oil Warning Signs Read More
Is the increasing use of encryption an impediment in the fight against crime or an essential tool in the defense of personal privacy, intellectual property, and computer security?
Encryption and Surveillance Read More
Schneier on Security, August 28, 2019
By Bruce Schneier
“The Department of Justice wants access to encrypted consumer devices but promises not to infiltrate business products or affect critical infrastructure. Yet that’s not possible, because there is no longer any difference between those categories of devices. Consumer devices are critical infrastructure. They affect national security. And it would be foolish to weaken them, even at the request of law enforcement.”
The Myth of Consumer-Grade Security Read More
Democracy Now!, July 8, 2015
By Juan González & Amy Goodman
Guest: Bruce Schneier
“FBI Director James Comey is set to testify against encryption before the Senate Intelligence Committee today, as the United States and Britain push for “exceptional access” to encrypted communications. Encryption refers to the scrambling of communications so they cannot be read without the correct key or password. The FBI and GCHQ have said they need access to encrypted communications to track criminals and terrorists. Fourteen of the world’s pre-eminent cryptographers, computer scientists and security specialists have issued a paper arguing there is no way to allow the government such access without endangering all confidential data, as well as the broader communications infrastructure. We speak with one of the authors of the paper, leading security technologist Bruce Schneier..”
The End of Encryption? NSA & FBI Seek New Backdoors Against Advice from Leading Security Experts Read More
Communications of the ACM, March 6, 2018
By Joe Dysart
“Many of us are likely to become victims of technology’s ongoing evolution if a solution to security in the age of quantum computers is not found.”
Quantum Computing: The End of Encryption? Read More