Understanding Cryptography and what it can do
Some information is too sensitive to allow to be broadcast as is. For those situations, we encrypt data into a form
that is unreadable without a specific key, and it is this process that we call cryptography. While it has its
origins in code to transform written text, cryptography is used now more than ever, mostly in the digital world. If
you log into your online banking, send secured emails and so on, you are using cryptography, turning plaint text
into unreadable text via encryption, then decrypting back to readable text at the other end.
Cryptography has two main forms, each has its benefits, and both are used frequently today, these are:
Symmetric Key Cryptography: This process both encrypts the information and then decrypts it using the
same key. This is the basic form of cryptography that has been used for thousands of years, such as the
Caesar Cypher, which encrypts by shifting letters in the alphabet a number of steps, and decrypts by
shifting them back the same amount.
Asymmetric Key Cryptography: Here there are two different keys, a public key used to encrypt
information, and then a second, private key, used to decrypt it. This type of cryptography is widely used
today in SSL certificates and digital signatures.
Where is cryptography used?
Cryptography has become an integral part of our digital lives, and is found in so many things we do almost daily,
here are a few examples:
Online Banking - Keeps your financial information safe and secure
Website Security - SSL keeps data sent between the website and user fully secure at all times
Email Encryption - Keeps contents of emails secure so even if intercepted, it could not be read
by anyone else.
Online Shopping - Online transactions use cryptography to prevent financial information being
intercepted as it is sent from user to the online shopping system.
Data protection on your devices - Losing your phone is bad enough, but worse still if someone
could read all the data. With cryptography, data on your devices is secure.
Government Communications - From tax returns to official ID documents, digital communications
between you and government entities is kept secure to protect you.
Using cryptography with vehicle data
One area where cryptography is making inroads is the automotive industry. As the use of telematics has grown, the
need for confidentiality within systems has been a constant concern. Vehicle data includes vehicle
location and tracking , diagnostics and driver
behavior , which is broadcast to manufacturers, fleet
managers and other connected service providers. That data, if intercepted, could allow criminal behavior or
be used in other ways, which is why cryptography has been widely adopted to secure such communications.
In fact, such is the need for security on these critical data, this application uses cryptography in three different
ways within the system. These are:
Data Encryption - All data sent from each vehicle is encrypted , so that if it is intercepted by
a third party, no information can be read.
Authentication - Cryptographic systems are used to authenticate the sender and receiver of the
data. This prevents malicious entities from corrupting the system by pretending to be official data sources
or recipients.
Integrity Checks - All data sent is checked for integrity to make sure it has not been
tampered with during transmission, so that users can be sure the information is accurate and trusted.
While right now, these systems are important, and the integrity of all data is crucial for accurate analysis, in the
future these systems will become increasingly essential. As vehicles more towards autonomous driving, having
accurate and reliable data becomes a mater of life or death to the safe operation of these vehicles, and as such,
cryptography will be at the heart of the transport revolution. See how to install a telematics device .
Conclusion
Cryptography then, is the key to unlocking the digital world. Constantly evolving to combat new and increased
threats posed by criminal entities of all kinds, cryptography keeps our data, whatever it may be, safe. From emails
to bank accounts, credit card numbers to vehicle locations , cryptography keeps this
important information safe and
secure, allowing us to have remote access to these key services without worry.
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