SecurityArena

Definitions

Algorithm: The set of mathematical rules used in encryption and decryption.
Cryptography: Science of secret writing that enables you to store and transmit data in a form that is available only to the intended individuals.

Cipher: It is an algorithm for performing encryption and decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure.
Crypto System: Hardware or software implementation of cryptography that transforms a message to cipher text and back to plain text.
Crypto analysis: Practice of obtaining plaintext from cipher text without a key or breaking the encryption.
Cryptology: The study of both cryptography and crypto analysis.
Cipher Text: Data in encrypted or is in unreadable format.
Encipher: It is act of transforming data into an unreadable format from plain text.
Decipher: It is act of transforming data into a readable format from cipher text.
Key: It is secret sequence of bits and instructions that governs the act of encryption and decryption.
Key Clustering: It is instance when two different keys generate the same cipher text from the same plain text.
Key Space: All possible values used to construct keys.
Plain Text: Data in readable format also referred to as clear text.
Work Factor: It is referred to estimated time, effort, and resources necessary to break a crypto system.

Frequency Analysis: It is analysis of the frequent patterns of letters used in messages and conversation.

Steganography: It is hiding data in another message so that the very existence of the data is concealed. A message can be hidden in a wave file, in a graphic or in unused spaces on a hard drive or sectors that are marked as unusable.
Clipper Chip: The Clipper chip is a chipset that was developed and promoted by the U.S. Government (NSA) as an encryption device to be adopted by telecommunications companies for voice transmission. It was announced in 1993 and by 1996 was entirely defunct. It uses the SkipJack algorithm. Each Clipper Chip has a unique serial number and a copy of the unit key is stored in the database under this serial number. The sending Clipper Chip generates and sends a Law Enforcement Access Field (LEAF) value included in the transmitted message, which could be used by govenament agencies to decrypt those messages. Skipjack is  based on a 80 - bit key and a 16-bit checksum.
Key Escrow: It is an arrangement in which the keys needed to decrypt encrypted data are held in escrow so that, under certain circumstances, an authorized third party may gain access to those keys.
Fair Cryptosystems: Separate the necessary key required for decryption, but this method takes place in software encryption processes using public key cryptography, whereas key escrow is mainly used when hardware encryption chips are used.