Cryptography: The Secret Code Protecting Your Online Life

Cryptography transforms sensitive information into encrypted digital secrets.

From your Instagram DMs to your online banking app, a secret code is working behind the scenes to keep your digital information secure. Cryptography, the ancient art of secret writing, continues to evolve into one of the most vital tools for modern cybersecurity.

However, bad actors continue to find opportunities to exploit cyber threats and data breaches to target unsuspecting victims and take advantage of their vulnerabilities. Layers of cryptography work to thwart the plans of cybercriminals and ensure your personal information stays out of the wrong hands.

Understanding how cryptography works to secure the future of digital communication and why it’s vital to your cybersecurity can help to protect your online life.

What is cryptography?

Cryptography is a method to secure information and keep it away from unauthorized, prying eyes. It uses a mixture of computer science, math, and a dab of spycraft to transform information into code so that only authorized parties can understand it. 

Once cryptography encrypts data, only an authorized key can decrypt it and make it readable.

Whether you log into email, shop online, or start a private chat on social media, cryptographic algorithms are encrypting (scrambling) your data so that cybercriminals and hackers won’t be able to read it.

A brief history of cryptography

Derived from the Greek words kryptos (hidden) and graphein (to write), cryptography has been around for thousands of years. In 58 B.C. Julius Caesar invented the eponymous Caesar Cipher to send secret military messages. 

The 16th-century French diplomat, Blaise de Vigenère invented his eponymous Vigenère Cipher. The Confederate Army used it during the American Civil War. German forces in World War II heavily used the Enigma Cipher, invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius. 

Today, cryptography is the foundation of secure online communication.

How cryptography works

If you ever had a secret decoder ring as a kid, you understand the basic foundation of how cryptography works. You’d receive a scrambled message from a friend, based on a special code that only your decoder ring code could unscramble. 

The message wouldn’t change, but the school bully who tried to intercept your communication wouldn’t be able to make sense of it.  Cryptography is based on identical principles.

Basic cryptography takes plaintext and scrambles it into ciphertext. Someone can only decipher it with the right encryption key. Here’s a simplified breakdown:

  • Encryption of plaintext by an encryption algorithm
  • A key used by the algorithm with the secret decoder
  • The encrypted message goes to the intended recipient
  • Decryption occurs via the same algorithm and key used for encryption (only accessible by the intended recipient)
  • The intended recipient reads the message in plaintext

Encryption bolsters cybersecurity and makes cryptographic algorithms virtually impossible to decipher by an unauthorized party.

Types of cryptography

Although cryptography is used for a multitude of applications, there are only two basic types of cryptography:

1. Symmetric Encryption

Symmetric encryption enables both the sender and receiver of a message to use the same key — kind of like using a shared password. It’s used to secure large amounts of data (for example, if you’re sending a document file).

A popular symmetric algorithm is AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), which even the U.S. government uses to protect classified information.

2. Asymmetric Encryption

Asymmetric encryption, also referred to as public key cryptography, uses two keys — a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption. This type of cryptography is used to secure websites with SSL/TLS protocols. 

The asymmetric encryption algorithms, RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) are also widely used to secure online communication, protect digital signatures, and are used in cryptocurrency transactions.

Cryptography keeps banking app transactions encrypted and private from hackers.

Real-life applications of cryptography

Even though you may not realize it, you interact with cryptography multiple times a day. Real-life applications of cryptography include:

  • Banking Apps: Any time you login or make a transaction on your banking app, your personal details are encrypted, reducing the risk of a hacker accessing your account.
  • Online Purchases: Each time you use a payment portal to make an online purchase or renew a subscription, your credit card information is protected by cryptographic protocols.
  • Password Managers: Password-protected applications and password managers like LastPass or Google Password Manager use cryptography to keep your credentials safe.
  • Secure Messaging: Messaging apps like WhatsApp use end-to-end encryption to prevent access to anyone who isn’t an intended recipient of your messages.
  • Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): Using a VPN offers multiple layers of extra cybersecurity protection — and uses cryptographic tunneling to prevent “spying” from malevolent parties.

Cryptography is like a virtual Maurauder’s Map, à la Harry Potter, that guards your personal data.

The significant security implications of cryptography 

Cryptography has had major security implications long before the advent of the Internet. For example, the award-winning film, The Imitation Game, told the story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his ability to crack the German’s Enigma Code, a cipher device used to encode messages in World War II. 

Turing’s story and his team’s tireless work are riveting onscreen, and the cryptography messages he deciphered proved crucial to the Allies’ eventual victory in the war.

This real-life example of cryptanalysis (code-breaking) showcases the profound impact cryptography has had—and continues to have—on global events and personal freedoms. Today, the stakes may be different, but the battle for secure digital communication is just as fierce.

The current and future benefits of cryptography 

In the age of AI and constant connectivity, digital privacy is vital. The cost of cybercrime is expected to reach a staggering $15.63 trillion by 2029, making cryptography and other cybersecurity protections even more imperative.

Strong encryption can mean the difference between a failed attack and a catastrophic leak.

Cryptography plays a critical role in defending against:

  • Data Breaches: Although encrypted data can still be stolen, it’s rendered useless without access to a specific decryption key.
  • Identity Theft: When cryptography is used to encrypt personal data and login credentials, potential identity theft threats are significantly reduced.
  • Man-in-the-Middle Attacks: Man-in-the-middle attacks occur when hackers intercept communications between two parties. Encrypted messages make these attacks more difficult to carry out.
  • Ransomware: Cybercriminals use cryptography encryptions to lock their targets out of systems and then demand a hefty ransom to unlock the system. However, cryptography is also used to counter ransomware attacks and makes a system difficult to hack.

The risks of cryptography

Although cryptography is a powerful tool in securing digital communication, it isn’t foolproof. Some of the risks associated with encryption include:

  • Backdoors: Backdoor access is required by some government agencies to access encrypted services in case of a national security concern. However, backdoors expose even heavily encrypted systems to vulnerabilities and cyber threats.
  • Outdated algorithms: Outdated cryptographic algorithms are vulnerable to decryption. For example, the once widely used symmetric encryption, DES (Data Encryption Standard) is now considered obsolete.
  • Quantum computing: The emerging technology quantum computing uses quantum mechanics for computer problem-solving and in the future, could break current cryptographic encryptions in seconds. However, computer scientists are already developing post-quantum cryptography—new algorithms designed to withstand quantum attacks. 
Cryptography protects your digital messages through end-to-end encryption.

How cryptography secures your digital communication

Using cryptographic encryption can help protect your digital life, and here are some of the ways it’s used for your protection:

  • End-to-End Encryption: Many messaging apps, like Facebook Messenger and Telegram, use cryptography to encrypt your messages. This adds an extra layer of cybersecurity to your digital communication.
  • Digital Signatures: When you sign an important document online, the authenticity is protected by encrypted cryptography. Encryption and hashing help to secure and verify your signature using asymmetric encryption. 
  • Online Financial Transactions: Cryptography is also used when you send, receive, or process money online. Both symmetrical and asymmetrical encryption are used to encode your transaction. And the TLS/SSL (Transport Layer Security/ Secure Sockets Layer) encryption protocol prevents interception from bad actors.
  • Security of IoT Devices: IoT (the Internet of Things) devices are automated physical objects that connect and communicate data with other online devices and systems. If you have a “smart home,” your thermostat, TV, and door locks might all be a part of the IoT. Cryptography secures IoT data and helps reduce the risk of hackers getting into your devices. Encryption on your external hard drives, laptop, phone, and more can also prevent cybercriminals from taking advantage of device vulnerabilities.

In the future, cryptography will continue to work behind-the-scenes to keep your digital communication safe and secure.

To learn more about cryptography and cybersecurity, visit What Is My IP Address to check out our Easy Prey podcastand our blog. Explore our cybersecurity tips to help you protect your digital life.