What Exactly is Cryptography (and How Does it Work)?

How does cryptography work?

Cryptographic methods are used to create the encryption keys that keep our data safe. The most common of these is Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), using large numbers and multiple rounds of encryption that could take computers up to 36 quadrillion years to break, all delivered as a fast and free part of most digital services.

To create an encryption, cryptographic systems use well-known algorithms that are thoroughly tested and heavily inspected for weaknesses. While the cryptographic algorithms are well understood, the encryption keys they create are incredibly hard to crack. They’re used by businesses to protect:

• WiFi and network connections
• Virtual private networks (VPNs)
• Communications between apps and social media
• Business password files
• Customer data and bank details

The encryption function works by taking any original text, password or message and expanding it, using the encryption key. It creates tables of characters, shifting rows and columns in a highly complex and random sequence. It then performs multiple rounds of encryption, and only the right app with the right key can decrypt it. So far, all methods at breaking this system have proven fruitless.

Other cryptographic methods include:

• Adding extra characters to shorter texts such as passwords to make them stronger
• Creating a code that guarantees the validity of an original file without expecting it

Both of these methods can be used in the background behind everyday network data exchanges, HTTPS connections and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and digital certificates to protect connections and the data sent over them.

Cryptography vs encryption

Having discussed both cryptography and encryption, it’s useful to highlight their differences. There are many different types of encryption, all of which fall under the sphere of cryptography as the overall science behind them.

Cryptography uses ciphers, hashing, salting and other methods to create encryption keys, (which can be private or public) that keep data secure.

Cryptographic techniques are improving all the time, and there will soon come a time when quantum computers could render classic encryption methods useless (assuming criminals could access quantum computers). But as a business or end-user, the main way to stay secure is to ensure that all your applications and networks are protected by high levels of encryption and that any private keys are heavily secured.

Why is cryptography important?

Given the ubiquity of cryptography and encryption, at its highest level cryptography is important because it helps protect the modern internet and every business that uses it. Some of its clearest benefits include:

• Protection of your and customer data in all business scenarios.
• Ensuring confidentiality in communications from the business-sensitive to those between banks, governments and other key organizations.
• Checking the authentication of people and devices so they have the right to access files or data. Cryptographic techniques such as MAC addresses and digital signatures help fight against digital forgeries and attacks such as spoofing (where other people pretend they are your system or an account holder).
• Ensuring data integrity through hashing to prove that files are secure and intact.

As digital information crosses more boundaries and companies share more of it, ensuring your data is secure will be essential to working with other services, building digital products and managing secure services.

How cryptography can improve your security

With cryptography and encryption built into every business cloud, mobile and digital service, it’s vital to understand how it functions and where the weak points could be in a business. This is especially true if you have a wide cloud footprint where data could cross several different cryptographic protections.

At the practical level, learning that businesses and cloud services need to be hashing passwords is just the first step in how an understanding of cryptography can protect the company, and ensure all your applications work with protection from end to end.

When it comes to talking to any product vendor, you should be able to understand their security and encryption offering. Be on the lookout for any gimmicks such as “secret” or “black box” algorithms that might be marketing fluff, or have real implications for how their encryption will work with other applications.

Then, there’s the benefit of understanding how each cloud application or other service uses encryption. Some applications are heavily secure, while others provide minimal levels of protection. Any company might need to invest in some extra cryptography security, but others throw large sums that they’re wasting on overly-complex protection.

And, as quantum computers become a risk to current encryption standards, being able to understand how future standards will protect business and information will be useful when it comes to the inevitable service upgrades and improvements in the years or decades to come.

Further reading:

• Endpoint Security: Eliminate Threats & Improve Visibility & Protection
• 7 Types of Security Threat and How to Protect Against Them
• How to Create a Successful Cybersecurity Plan