cryptography
The use of mathematical techniques to provide security services, such as confidentiality, data integrity, entity authentication, and data origin authentication.
Senses
Sense 1
The use of mathematical techniques to provide security services, such as confidentiality, data integrity, entity authentication, and data origin authentication.
The art or science concerning the principles, means, and methods for converting plaintext into ciphertext and for restoring encrypted ciphertext to plaintext.
- NICCS (CISA) Cybersecurity VocabularyJan 06, 2026NICCS glossary export (CSV)https://niccs.cisa.gov/rest/vocab/export-csvNICCS is a CISA (DHS) program. Individual glossary entries include a "From" attribution (e.g., CNSSI 4009, NIST SPs, NICE Framework). Treat "From" values as upstream provenance and verify before quoting large portions of text.Source: NICCS (CISA) Cybersecurity Vocabulary (niccs.cisa.gov).
1 (I)
The mathematical science that deals with transforming data to render its meaning unintelligible (i.e., to hide its semantic content), prevent its undetected alteration, or prevent its unauthorized use. If the transformation is reversible, cryptography also deals with restoring encrypted data to intelligible form. (See: cryptology, steganography.)
- IETF RFC 4949 (Internet Security Glossary)Jan 06, 2026RFC 4949 — Internet Security Glossary (Version 2)https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4949.txtRFC 4949 is published by the IETF Trust and marked as "Distribution of this memo is unlimited". Verify IETF Trust copyright/licensing terms for reuse.Source: IETF RFC 4949 (rfc-editor.org).
2 (O)
"The discipline which embodies principles, means, and methods for the transformation of data in order to hide its information content, prevent its undetected modification and/or prevent its unauthorized use.... Cryptography determines the methods used in encipherment and decipherment." [I7498-2]
Tutorial: Comprehensive coverage of applied cryptographic protocols and algorithms is provided by Schneier [Schn]. Businesses and governments use cryptography to make data incomprehensible to outsiders; to make data incomprehensible to both outsiders and insiders, the data is sent to lawyers for a rewrite.
- IETF RFC 4949 (Internet Security Glossary)Jan 06, 2026RFC 4949 — Internet Security Glossary (Version 2)https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4949.txtRFC 4949 is published by the IETF Trust and marked as "Distribution of this memo is unlimited". Verify IETF Trust copyright/licensing terms for reuse.Source: IETF RFC 4949 (rfc-editor.org).