Hernandez

Sylvia Hernandez
30 January 2019
College Algebra
Rodriguez
Cryptography
What does cryptography do and why is it important? Cryptography is solving puzzles
and decoding to solve a secret passage or message. “Cryptography has a long and complex
history with the earliest known use of cryptography found in non-standard hieroglyphs carved
into monuments from the Old Kingdom of Egypt circa 1900 BCE. At around 100 BC, Julius
Caesar was known to use a form of encryption to convey secret messages to his army generals
posted in the war front” (Kip 2016). This means that cryptography has a long history and has
been around for ages. In today’s age and with new advances in technology, cryptography is still
significant because it takes patience and dedication to solve a cryptogram. Cryptograms hide
messages such as codes, passwords and clues. They also prove authentication and confidentiality
to give said hidden messages to the correct authority. Keeping passages hidden/secret can be
useful so that the data is not tampered with or misused.
Today cryptography is a key element in the functions of government and the military.
Cryptography was an advantageous skill and was used profoundly during World War II, the most
significant part being the decoding of the of the German “Enigma” cipher. It can also be found
useful for banks in transactions or money loans. “Modern cryptographers emphasize that security
should not depend on the secrecy of the encryption method (or algorithm), only the secrecy of
the keys. The secret keys must not be revealed when plaintext and ciphertext are compared, and
no person should have knowledge of the key” (Simpson 1997). Since modern day technology is
so advanced, it would almost impossible to keep anything hidden or secret. There are so many
ways to jailbreak and hack and important information could be altered or jeopardized.
Some examples of cryptography are SSL and TSL and both are used to transmit data over
the internet. As well as PGP, used for encrypting messages and authenticating data. There is even
a statue containing cryptography named “Kryptos” located on the CIA and out of 4 solutions,
only 3 of them have been solved by the most advanced and professional cryptographers.
Cryptographers annual salary is anywhere from 100,000 to 130,000 and in most cases, you need
a master's or PHD degree to certify as a cryptography. Even at the most prestigious mathematics
and science schools no undergraduate can earn a degree in cryptography. “In the past,
cryptography was primarily used to protect military, political, financial, law-enforcement, and
other confidential data through the use of a key needed to unlock encrypted information.”
(Bellovin 1991) Often grouped with mathematicians, math is a key factor in decoding and
deciphering encrypted information. As technology advances, there are still some things that can
be proven to be useful without being replaced. The first known cipher was said to be one from
Julius Cesar, though some believe that there were many more before then.
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Works cited
Source one: Simpson, S. (1997, March 01). Cryptography Defined/Brief History. Retrieved
January 31, 2019, from
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/~anorman/BUS.FOR/course.mat/SSim/history.html
Source two: Bellovin, S. (1991). GaryKessler.net Home Page. Retrieved from
https://www.garykessler.net/
Source three: Kip, R. (2016, April 16). When did Cryptography begin? www.quora.com/When-
did-cryptography-begin
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