Cryptography plays a critical role in protecting information on the Internet. Although this science, located between computer science and mathematics, is very old, it is often used by users today. Cryptography is constantly evolving to ensure data protection against any form of breach.
Cryptography, or the art of writing by means of a key, probably appeared at the same time as writing itself. The Egyptians and Mesopotamians already used encryption methods, but it was the Greeks and Romans who perfected them to ensure the confidentiality of their military communications. A famous example is that of Julius Caesar, who had to exchange secret messages with his legionaries without the Gauls being able to understand them, even if they intercepted them using cryptography.
Modern cryptography
Throughout history, cryptography has evolved into an increasingly complex science, integrating mathematical elements such as statistics and number theory. The first coding machines in the early 20th century marked a major turning point. In 1923, German engineer Arthur Scherbius patented a machine called the Enigma. Due to its ease of use, Enigma quickly became the German government’s tool of choice for encoding military communications during World War II. Deciphering these messages then became an absolute priority for the Allies, giving rise to one of the iconic episodes in the history of espionage.
Among this period is the mathematician Alan Turing, considered the father of modern computers. He played one of the key roles in finding the solution to Enigma. This work also led to the design of the first computer in history! If this story interests you even more, we recommend the movie ” Imitation game » which perfectly follows the story of Enigma and Alan Turing.
Today, cryptography is everywhere: it protects our phone calls, our Internet searches, and our messaging. It is also used in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Messaging apps like WhatsApp provide encrypted transmission where only the sender and recipient can read the content without risk of interception.
Cryptography of the future
With viruses, hackers and more, is information security through cryptography still possible? The theoretical computing capacity of these machines could make it possible to decipher the most complex current cryptographic systems.
However, researchers are already working on particularly secure quantum cryptographic keys, paving the way for new methods to protect our information in the future.
The Crypto Lexicon!
The word cryptography is derived from the ancient Greek words krruptos (κρυπτός) “hidden” and graphein (γράφειν) “write”. Many cryptographic terms use the root “crypt-” or derivatives of the term “cipher”:
- encryption: transforming, using a known key, a plain text message (called plaintext) into an unintelligible message (called ciphertext) for someone who does not have the decryption key;
- cipher: a set of rules for writing and reading a secret language;
- cryptogram: encrypted message;
- decryption: find the clear message corresponding to an encrypted message using the known key.
- decryption: find the clear message corresponding to an encrypted message without having a decryption key;
- cryptography: etymologically “secret writing”, which became an extension of the study of this art (hence today the science that aims to create cryptograms, that is, to encipher);
- cryptanalysis: science analyzing cryptograms with a view to deciphering them;
- cryptology: science uniting cryptography and cryptanalysis;