Say, you have a diary where you keep your innermost thoughts and desires, and you want to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. You can create a code by substituting shapes or numbers for letters, for instance. That way, only you can read your entries. This is the idea behind cryptography.
In computing, cryptography is the process of disguising information. Cybersecurity specialists use crypters (software that turn plain text into code) to make information readable only to authorized people. For extra protection, these people need a cipher or key to translate the code back into plain text or readable format.
Cryptography helps users maintain the confidentiality of the information stored in and transmitted by computers. So, even if attackers steal encrypted data, they won’t be able to read it as long as they don’t have the cipher.
Other interesting terms…