Introduction to cryptography

The process of converting ordinary and plain text into unintelligible text and vice versa is known as cryptography. In this method, data is stored and transmitted in a specific form in order to make it available for only particular people to read and process. Its importance lies in the fact that it protects data from hacking and alteration, while making it useful for user authentication. Phil Zimmermann defines cryptography as ―the science of using mathematics to encrypt and decrypt data‖. Bruce Schneier says, ―Cryptography is the art and science of keeping messages secure.‖