Key (cryptography)

Key (cryptography)

In cryptography, a key is a piece of information (a parameter) that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm or cipher. Without a key, the algorithm would produce no useful result. In encryption, a key specifies the particular transformation of plaintext into ciphertext, or vice versa during decryption. Keys are also used in other cryptographic algorithms, such as digital signature schemes and message authentication codes.

Read more about Key (cryptography):  Need For Secrecy, Key Sizes, Key Choice

Famous quotes containing the word key:

    “Every revolution was first a thought in one man’s mind, and when the same thought occurs in another man, it is the key to that era.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)