WHAT IS ENCRYPTION?

The process of transforming plain text or data into cipher text that cannot be read by anyone outside of the sender and the receiver.
Encryption is said to occur when data is passed through a series of mathematical operations that generate an alternate form of that data; the sequence of these operations is called an algorithm. To help distinguish

between the two forms of data, the unencrypted data is referred to as the plaintext and the encrypted data as cipher text.

The security of encryption lies in the ability of an algorithm to generate ciphertext that is not easily reverted to the original plaintext

The purpose of encryption is to (a) secure stored information (b) To secure information transmission

Encryption provide four key dimensions of E- Commerce

message has not been altered. Non repudiation prevents the user from denying he or she sent the message. Authentication provides verification of the identity of the person or machine sending the message. Confidentiality gives assurance that the message was not read by others.

 Cipher text- text that has been encrypted and thus

cannot be read by anyone besides the sender and the receiver. Substitution cipher every occurrence of a given letter is replaced systematically by another. HELLO JGNNQ Transposition cipher- the ordering of the letters in each word is changed in systematic way HELLO OLLEH

In the quest for a more secure method of protecting information, the introduction of a key adds another level of security. A key is a piece of information that allows only those that hold it to encode and decode a message. Keys come in many different forms such as passwords, numbers generated by an algorithm, digital fingerprints etc.

. A key allows both the sender and the recipient of the message to understand how the message has been encrypted and assures them that nobody else knows how it has been encrypted.
It is the key that enables the recipient to properly decode the message.

TYPES OF ENCRYPTION
SYMMETRIC KEY ENCRYPTION :-

Symmetric encryption uses the single key to encrypt and decrypt the message. It means both the sender and the receiver use the same key to encrypt and decrypt.
key
key

Plain text
encrypt

cipher text
decrypt

plain text
receiver

sender

This method is easy and fast to implement but has weaknesses; the algorithm that is used to encode the message is easier for attackers to understand, enabling them to more easily decode the message.

 Asymmetric key encryption or Public key encryption :-

In asymmetric two mathematically related digital key are used : a public and private key. The public key can only be used to encrypt the message and the private key can only be used to decrypt it. This allows a user to freely distribute his or her public key to people who are likely to want to communicate with him or her without worry of compromise because only someone with the private key can decrypt a message. To secure information between two users, the sender encrypts the message using the public key of the receiver. The receiver then uses the private key to decrypt the message.

public +
private key

internet
public +private key

Plain text
encrypt Sender

cipher text
decrypt

plain text
receiver

It Common Uses of Encryption

Authentication is the process of logging in, signing on or otherwise presenting information or oneself in a manner that proves his or her identity.
The most common example of authentication is the use of a

username and password to gain access to a system, network or web site. The username and password combination is often referred to as a person?s credentials and it is frequently sent over networks. Encryption is used to protect these credentials. If no encryption is used to protect the information as it is sent over the network, an attacker could capture those credentials and assume the identity of the originator.

Validation-digital fingerprints
Validation describes the ability to provide assurance that a

senders identity is true and that a message, document or file has not been modified. Encryption can be used to provide validation by making a digital fingerprint of the information contained within a message. A digital fingerprint is a code that uniquely identifies a file or a message by reflecting the content of the file with tremendous specificity. Comparison between a fingerprint known to be good and one sent to the recipient can indicate whether or not the message has been modified. While a fingerprint can indicate that the message has not been tampered with, it does not assure the recipient of the identity of the sender. For that assurance, the sender can utilize a digital signature

Digital signature
Digital signature also called e-signature or signed cipher text that can

be sent over the internet. A digital signature is a close parallel to a handwritten signature . Like a handwritten signature , a digital signature is unique only one person. it is a piece of information that proves the identity of the sender. It is a that is made using a private key. A sender can electronically or digitally sign a message and its fingerprint before delivery to a recipient. Upon receiving the message, the recipient verifies this signature, using the private key that the sender has previously communicated, indicating that the sender is the expected person. T he recipient can verify the fingerprint of the message. Upon validation, the recipient can be reasonably sure that the message came from a trusted person and that the contents of the message have not been modified.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

protocol for managing the security of a message transmission on the Internet E-commerce web sites use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to protect important information such as credit card numbers as they travel across the network. SSL creates a private communication path between the web browser and the web server, encrypting all information that goes between the systems. Most common web browsers have SSL support built in and e-commerce companies can purchase or get freely available web servers that support SSL.

Virtual private networks

network that uses the Internet to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization's network by creating an encrypted path to that network. . Virtual private networks help distant colleagues work together, much like desktop sharing

Security, Encryption and the Small Office/ Home Office User

implemented in conjunction with other security measures as it protects data during storage and when communicating information between parties. It is important to note that encryption does not protect the user or network from other security threats such as viruses, network attacks and denial of service attacks. Encryption can be very useful in protecting information that is being transmitted from one computer to another; however it does nothing to protect the integrity of the channels along which those messages travel. Install pgp-pretty good privacy sftware.