Cryptography - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Cryptography : (noun)
1: the science of analyzing and deciphering codes and ciphers and cryptograms [syn: cryptanalysis, cryptanalytics, cryptology]
2: act of writing in code or cipher [syn: coding, secret writing]

Based on WordNet 2.0

Cryptography : \Cryp*tog"ra*phy\ (-f?), n. [Cf. F. cryptographie.] The act or art of writing in secret characters; also, secret characters, or cipher.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Cryptography :

The practise and study of encryption and decryption - encoding data so that it can only be decoded by specific individuals. A system for encrypting and decrypting data is a cryptosystem. These usually involve an algorithm for combining the original data ("{plaintext") with one or more "keys" - numbers or strings of characters known only to the sender and/or recipient. The resulting output is known as "{ciphertext".

The security of a cryptosystem usually depends on the secrecy of (some of) the keys rather than with the supposed secrecy of the algorithm. A strong cryptosystem has a large range of possible keys so that it is not possible to just try all possible keys (a "{brute force" approach). A strong cryptosystem will produce ciphertext which appears random to all standard statistical tests. A strong cryptosystem will resist all known previous methods for breaking codes ("{cryptanalysis").

See also cryptology, public-key encryption, RSA.

Usenet newsgroups: news:sci.crypt, news:sci.crypt.research.

FAQ MIT ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/cryptography-faq/)">(ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/cryptography-faq/).

Cryptography glossary http://www.io.com/~ritter/GLOSSARY.HTM#BruteForceAttack)">(http://www.io.com/~ritter/GLOSSARY.HTM#BruteForceAttack).

RSA cryptography glossary http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/glossary.html)">(http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/glossary.html).

Cryptography, PGP, and Your Privacy http://draco.centerline.com:8080/~franl/crypto.html)">(http://draco.centerline.com:8080/~franl/crypto.html).

(2000-01-16)

Based on the Online Dictionary of Computing [Computer_Dictionary]:

Cryptography : Cryptography: The encoding and decoding of secret messages.

Cryptography in genetics: The term "cryptography" can be applied to human DNA since the message of life is encoded in DNA. And for eons even the existence of DNA was unknown and the information therein an unfathomed mystery.

The decoding of DNA in the human genome project is essentially an exercise in cryptography, the greatest piece of cryptography ever undertaken in human history. However, this cryptographic project is incomplete since, although the sequence of most of the DNA has been determined, we are still far from understanding all of the many messages encoded within it.

Etymology: The word "cryptography" traces back to the Greek roots "kryptos," meaning "hidden," and "graphein," meaning "to write" = "to write secret(ly)."

Based on the Online Dictionary of Computing [Computer_Dictionary]:

Example Usage of Cryptography
	fixemailproblem: Fix Email Problems: A Survey on Botnets with Cryptography http://bit.ly/66AbLx
	SanFran_TechJob: New #job: Technical Support Rep - security - Cryptography - Tier 3 - LDAP #jobs #tech http://bit.ly/5FT9BR
	lcdubzz: one. more. left. i dunno if i can do it. my brain = "SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS, all i do is partaaaay" not javascript & Cryptography

Cryptography - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Example Usage of Cryptography