Alex Gaynor | 8c9dcb3 | 2013-11-03 13:10:57 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 1 | Glossary |
| 2 | ======== |
| 3 | |
| 4 | .. glossary:: |
Alex Gaynor | 2d16012 | 2014-01-02 09:41:24 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 5 | :sorted: |
Alex Gaynor | 8c9dcb3 | 2013-11-03 13:10:57 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 6 | |
| 7 | plaintext |
| 8 | User-readable data you care about. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ciphertext |
| 11 | The encoded data, it's not user readable. Potential attackers are able |
| 12 | to see this. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | encryption |
| 15 | The process of converting plaintext to ciphertext. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | decryption |
| 18 | The process of converting ciphertext to plaintext. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | key |
| 21 | Secret data is encoded with a function using this key. Sometimes |
Alex Gaynor | a0516bf | 2013-11-03 13:20:41 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 22 | multiple keys are used. These **must** be kept secret, if a key is |
| 23 | exposed to an attacker, any data encrypted with it will be exposed. |
Alex Gaynor | 8c9dcb3 | 2013-11-03 13:10:57 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 24 | |
| 25 | symmetric cryptography |
| 26 | Cryptographic operations where encryption and decryption use the same |
| 27 | key. |
| 28 | |
Alex Gaynor | 049a368 | 2014-02-17 13:21:39 -0800 | [diff] [blame^] | 29 | public-key cryptography |
Alex Gaynor | 8c9dcb3 | 2013-11-03 13:10:57 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 30 | asymmetric cryptography |
| 31 | Cryptographic operations where encryption and decryption use different |
Alex Gaynor | 049a368 | 2014-02-17 13:21:39 -0800 | [diff] [blame^] | 32 | keys. There are separate encryption and decryption keys. Typically |
| 33 | encryption is performed using a :term:`public key`, and it can then be |
| 34 | decrypted using a :term:`private key`. Asymmetric cryptography can also |
| 35 | be used to create signatures, which can be generated with a |
| 36 | :term:`private key` and verified with a :term:`public key`. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | public key |
| 39 | This is one of two keys involved in :term:`public-key cryptography`. It |
| 40 | can be used to encrypt messages for someone posessing the corrosponding |
| 41 | :term:`private key` and to verify signatures created with the |
| 42 | corrosponding :term:`private key`. This can be distributed publicly, |
| 43 | hence the name. |
| 44 | |
| 45 | private key |
| 46 | This is one of two keys involved in :term:`public-key cryptography`. It |
| 47 | can be used to decrypt messages which were encrypted with the |
| 48 | corrosponding :term:`public key`, as well as to create signatures, |
| 49 | which can be verified with the corrosponding :term:`public key`. These |
| 50 | **must** be kept secret, if they are exposed, all encrypted messages |
| 51 | are compromised, and an attacker will be able to forge signatures. |
Alex Gaynor | 953ebf8 | 2013-12-08 10:28:30 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 52 | |
| 53 | authentication |
| 54 | The process of verifying that a message was created by a specific |
| 55 | individual (or program). Like encryption, authentication can be either |
| 56 | symmetric or asymmetric. Authentication is necessary for effective |
| 57 | encryption. |
| 58 | |
Alex Gaynor | 2d16012 | 2014-01-02 09:41:24 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 59 | ciphertext indistinguishability |
Alex Gaynor | 953ebf8 | 2013-12-08 10:28:30 -0800 | [diff] [blame] | 60 | This is a property of encryption systems whereby two encrypted messages |
| 61 | aren't distinguishable without knowing the encryption key. This is |
| 62 | considered a basic, necessary property for a working encryption system. |