What is encryption?

Question 1

Encryption

Answer 1

Encryption is the process of protecting data by making the data from being readable to being unreadable /accessible by people who don’t have access to it / aren’t meant to view it. It’s used mainly to protect people’s information and communication transmitted through a network.

Question 2

One-way Encryption

Answer 2

Encryption that cannot be decrypted; for example SHA (Secure Hash Algorithms) is a one-way hash function. This algorithm is used mainly to store passwords as once encrypted, it cannot be reversed. However, this method isn’t entirely safe as they can be brute forced with rainbow tables as they store common hashes. Salting the hash is a method that is used to help make it unique, thus stopping rainbow tables.

Question 3

Two-way Encryption

Answer 3

Encryption that can be decrypted using a key; AES, RSA, 3DES are encryption methods that can be decrypted with a key. This method of encryption is used mainly for communication online safely. This way, we can send messages that are encrypted and nobody will be able to decrypt them during the process.

Question 4

Symmetric Encryption

Answer 4

An encryption technique that utilizes one key for both encryption and decryption. Also, symmetric encryptions are faster as the algorithm is more simple so this type of encryption is favoured when transferring large amounts of data.

Question 5

Asymmetric Encryption

Answer 5

This encryption technique is a lot more secure than Symmetric Encryption as it uses two keys (Public and Private). The high security comes at a cost as the encryption process requires more time than Symmetric Encryption. Only the sender can decrypt the message but others can send to the receiver using a public key.