What is Encryption in Computer Software?

Modern computers have tools to encrypt data, making it unreadable for those who don’t have the appropriate key. But what is encryption exactly and how does it work? This article explains the fundamentals of encryption and how it can help secure sensitive information from hackers.

In simplest terms, data encryption transforms the information that is readable into ciphertext that can only be deciphered by authorized users with the right password. It is a critical component of cyber security that guarantees data privacy and keeps sensitive information out big tech info of the fingers of users who are not authorized.

A common type employs mathematical models that are cryptographic to convert the original information into a jumbled collection of characters (also called ciphertext). Encryption algorithms “scrambles” individual bits of data randomly, so that it would take an enormous amount of computing power to find the key and convert back to plaintext.

For instance, if employ the most popular type of encryption, known as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) on your digital files, every one of the zeros and ones that comprise it is scrambled ten times, creating a semi-random pattern. It would take computers a long time to rearrange all the numbers in the correct order without the key.

The encryption process also helps prevent data leaks and ransomware attacks. Hackers who take encrypted data can’t read the information, and cannot threaten the company, or the person who is involved with the threat to release the stolen data onto the dark web. The encryption also safeguards backup systems from hackers, since they cannot access the data in its original format.