Cryptology: The area of constructing cryptographic systems.

Cryptanalysis: The area of breaking cryptographic systems.

Encryption: A process that encodes a message/ information so that it can

only be read by the people for whom it is intended.

Decryption: The process of converting the encrypted data into its original

form is decryption. In order that an authorized user can only decrypt the

data, it requires a secret key or password and decodes the encrypted

information.

Cipher: The algorithm which encrypts and decrypts data is cipher.

Cipher modes: The “cipher mode” defines how the cipher encrypts and

decrypts it.

Symmetric cipher: For encryption of plaintext and decryption of

ciphertext, the symmetric cipher uses the same cryptographic keys. These

ciphers are fast and allow encrypting of large sets of data.

Asymmetric cipher: Also known as public-key cryptography, it uses two

keys to encrypt a plaintext. A network is used to exchange the secret keys,

which ensures that malicious persons do not misuse the keys.

Block cipher: A block at one time encrypts a fixed size of n-bits of data by

an encryption algorithm which is a block cipher.

Stream cipher: This is an encryption algorithm that encrypts 1 bit or 1 byte

of plaintext at a time; an infinite stream of pseudo-random bits is used as

the key.

Digital signature: To verify the contents of a document and also the

sender’s identity, a digital code generated and authenticated by public key

encryption attached to an electronically transmitted document is a digital

signature.

Private key: Also known as secret key, it is a variable in cryptography that

is used with an algorithm to encrypt and decrypt code.

Public key: It is a large numerical value that is used to encrypt data. The

key can be generated by a software program, but more often, it is provided

by a trusted, designated authority and made available to everyone through a

publicly accessible repository.

Hash function: A mathematical function that converts a numerical input

value into another compressed numerical value. The output of the hash