The goal of using encryption in communication is twofold: to guarantee the privacy of the communication, so that no third party can acquire the information, and to verify its integrity — to make sure that it was not damaged (or deliberately modified) on the way. Privacy can be guaranteed by the use of encryption algorithms, while integrity protection requires the application of hashing algorithms. Secure communication utilizes both of these techniques.
The main concepts and requirements of secure communication are the following:
Both the sender and the receiver of the message have access to the algorithm (this is practically a piece of software, often used transparently to the actual user) that can be used to encrypt and decrypt the message.
Both have access to a special piece of information — so called key — that is required to encrypt and to successfully decrypt the message.
An encrypted message cannot be decrypted without the proper key, even if the encryption algorithm is known.
The receiver can identify if the encrypted message has been damaged or modified. (Remember, it is not necessary to understand the message to mess it up.)
Both the sender and the receiver can verify the identity of the other party.
Published on May 30, 2024
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