The plaintext is the raw message or data that is to be encrypted. A cryptographic algorithm or cipher is a mathematical set of rules that defines how the plain text is to be combined with a key. The key is a string of digits. The ciphertext is the encrypted message. Today s cryptography is more than encryption and decryption.
Authentication is as fundamentally a part of our lives as privacy. .
Authentication allows customers to be sure that the merchant they are sending their credit card details to be who they say they are. It can also allow merchants to verify that the customer is the real owner of the credit card being used. Authentication is provided through digital certificates. Digital certificates provide the basis for secure electronic transactions as they enable all participants in a transaction to quickly and easily verify the identity of the other participants. Integrity ensure that the messages have not been tampered with by a third party during transmission.