Computer Cryptography :: Exploratory Essays

Computer Cryptography When I first read the term computer cryptography, I thought that it was a technical term for â€Å"hacking.† After looking up â€Å"cryptography† on an on-line dictionary, I was sure I wasn’t far from the truth. But after further examining the topic, I find I am only partly right. Computer cryptography is a very complex thing. According to David Banisar [1], â€Å"Cryptography provides a means of accomplishing two crucial functions-encryption and authentication.† In order to understand cryptography, I think it is best to first look at encryption and authentication. Then I will examine how it affects the privacy of personal computer users and how the government is attempting to deal with the cryptography issue. I will also take a brief look at quantum computers and their effect on the computer society. Encryption is a security process, designed to secure information being sent electronically. It’s kind of like sending a message military-style. Instead of saying, â€Å"The president has left the White House,† a military official might say something like, â€Å"The eagle has left the nest.† The difference between the example above and encryption is that encryption has more to do with mathematics, since computers communicate using numbers, not letters. Authentication is just as it sounds. Authenticity means, â€Å"Not false or imitation. [2]† I also found that authenticate means, â€Å"to prove or serve to prove the authenticity of. [3]† Basically, it’s making something legitimate. Well, authenticating a computer document is the same as signing the document. The sender uses a unique â€Å"digital signature† to let the receiver know that the document is official and sent from the right person. So, to sum it up, computer cryptography software is designed to send and receive important messages using a type of secret code to send the message and an electronic signature to let you know the receiver’s software allowing him to easily read the message is real. The message is then decoded by message. When personal computer users purchase something online, they use a credit card number or bank account number to make their purchase. This number is sent through the website to the company you’re shopping with. If there are any â€Å"bugs† in the site’s programming, other users can get a hold of your account information and use it to do the same, to purchase things online, where no one is there to verify that that is you (Stephen Budianski, â€Å"Losing the Code War,† Atlantic Monthly, 2002).