In the world of IT security and data protection, two terms are frequently used: encryption and ciphering. Often used interchangeably, these two concepts represent distinct processes, each with its own implications and applications.
What is encryption?
The encryption process consists in rendering information unreadable without the encryption key.
For example:
Original text: "Thank you for reading these few lines"
Encrypted text: "Jhepd ht xpas fer aptbegtm ipvusq"
Encryption irreversibly replaces one piece of information with another. In this example, we've simply replaced the letters while retaining the original word length. The only information we have is the length of the words, making it virtually impossible to recover the original text. It's important to note that encryption can also involve other transformations, such as replacing spaces with characters or deleting them altogether. In all cases, we have no way of returning to the original text.
What is encryption?
The key plays a crucial role in the encryption process. This key can be mechanical, logical or digital, representing an encryption technique that calls on a specific key and an instrument such as an object, a correspondence grid or an algorithm.
For example:
Encryption key : 7-character shift in a looped series of characters
Tool: looped series "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"
Original text: "Thank you for reading these few lines"
Encrypted text: "Tlyjpgklgspylgjlzgxalsxalzgspnulz" "
With encryption, it is quite possible to recover the original text by applying the reverse key (in the example: shifting back 7 characters) with the same tool. It is therefore essential that sender and recipient use the same key and the same tool.
In fact, using the same tool with a different key (13-character shift backwards), or the same key with a different tool (character sequence following the AZERTY keyboard), will produce a different encrypted message.
To conclude, there's no such thing as "encrypt"! The correct term is " encrypt". Encrypting involves making a message unreadable to anyone other than the legitimate recipient, in order to guarantee confidentiality. This process requires the use of a key and an encryption algorithm.
The confusion between crypter and chiffrer is largely due to the anglicism "encryption", which is correct.
