Encryption is a security methodwhich encodes a message before it is being sent out. This is so thatunauthorised users cannot access this information without have permission andonly the authorised will have access to the information. This method is usedwithin organisation to keep stored information/data secure and confidential.
People use encryption to change plain text into an unreadable secret.Encryption doesn’t only protect confidential messages but also ensures that themessage has not been tampered with while it is being sent. Decryption is whenthe receiver receives the message and decodes the information that has beensent to them. Decryption is only done by the private key which the users hasaccess to. Public & Private Key aretwo types of encryption key. The public key uses itself and a private key. Theprivate key is used only on the user’s computer system to decrypt the messageand the public is used on the users and also the users receiving the data, thisis so that the two systems communicate with each other securely.
The data isencrypted during the transfer of the data. In order for the system to receiveencrypted data the computer system must have a public key which will be used toreceive the information. The public key is sent to everyone connect to thenetwork however they will be unable to read the information as they will alsorequire a private key to decrypt the information. The user who will have theprivate key is the user in which the message is originally intended to. Theencryption works by using prime numbers, this makes it very difficult forhackers to access and makes the message extremely secure.
The sender of the messageencrypts the message with a symmetric key and then encrypts that key with apublic key on the receiving computer, this in orders that the message issecure. Once the message is sent through the network the receiving computer theuses the private key to decrypt the message so that is can be opened. Largeorganisation such as banks may use this type of encryption technique to securetheir web server however it uses a slightly different approach to secure theinformation. It uses a digital certificate which uses unique numbers to codethe message same as public and private key, this is so that the web server inorganisation can trust the source the information is coming from, this sourceis known as a certificate authority. This sources identifies that the senderand receiver are the correct systems which the message will be transferred fromand to.
It then provides them both with a public key so that the message isdirectly sent to the receiver and not to anyone else connected on the network.
