ENCRYPTION

What is it?
&
Why does it matter?

(N-KRPSHN)
The process of converting data to an unrecognizable form
Protect sensitive information
Accessible only to authorized parties
A solution to the invasion of privacy
Does not prevent interception
Denies message content to interceptor

HISTORY OF CRYPTOGRAPHY
Cryptography: the uses of codes/ciphers to protect secrets
Existed for as long as civilizations had a need for secure communications
Earliest known use found in non-standard hieroglyphs (Egypt ~1900 BCE)
Political competitions, religious revolutions, wars, etc are drivers
U-571 capturing the Enigma cipher machine

TYPES OF ENCRYPTION
Symmetric key encryption

Public key encryption

Encrypting & decrypting keys are

the same
Communicating parties must have
the same key

Encryption keys public

Decryption keys known only to
receiving parties
Key pairs are mathematically linked

PERSONAL COMPUTERS
Windows Os
Office provides easy file encryption
with passwords
Encrypting File System (EFS) allows
encryption of existing files/folders
BitLocker Drive Encryption all data
on Windows OS volume

Mac Os

FileVault 2 encrypt entire drive

Disk Utility encrypt existing folders
Print to PDF create passwords for
files that can be printed

3RD PARTIES SOFTWARES

VeraCrypt (Windows/OS X/Linux)

Price: Free
Encrypt files on-the-fly
Supports AES, TwoFish, & Serpent encryption ciphers
Supports creation of hidden, encrypted volumes within volumes
Simple, but plain interface and lack advance features

(Inception)

 GNU Privacy Guard (Windows/OS X/Linux)

Price: Gratis
Open-source implementation of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)
Command line version or dozens of graphic interfaces
Encrypt everything from emails to files/folders to entire volumes
Modular tool sets support multiple encryption types and ciphers

 7-Zip

Price: On the house

Main purpose is file archiver, but also an encryption tool
Encrypt files & folders
Supports 256-bit AES encryption
Encrypted archives can self-decrypt by intended recipient

MOBILE COMPUTING
Android

iOS

iOS 8+ continue to enable default device-wide encryption

Settings > Encryption: encrypt all data through built-in encryption tool

Android L will have encryption on by default

Uses 256-bit AES encryption

iOS 8+ disallow Apple to access any content on devices

FINAL WORDS
Encryption is the unseen workhorse beneath the fabric of our electronic
society
Security, commerce, and personal privacy
Protect information even with unauthorized access
Target, JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, eBay, UPS, even the White House in 2014

Future of encryption technologies

Trade-off performance for security becomes smaller as tech improves
Convenience built-in from the ground up to boost adoption