The science and practice of altering data to make it unintelligible to unauthorized parties.

The science and practice of altering data to make it unintelligible to unauthorized parties.

• A. Plaintext
• B. Cryptography
• C. Algorithm
• D. Ciphertext

Answer: (B)

Cryptography is the discipline focused on protecting information by transforming it so that unintended readers cannot understand it. When data is altered to be unintelligible to unauthorized parties, encryption is the primary technique used, and it sits within cryptography. This process turns readable data (plaintext) into an unreadable form (ciphertext) using an encryption algorithm and a key. The original data can be restored only by reversing the process with decryption, using the appropriate key. The other terms are parts of the process: plaintext is the starting readable form, ciphertext is the scrambled result, and an algorithm is the method used to perform the transformation.

Cryptography is the discipline focused on protecting information by transforming it so that unintended readers cannot understand it. When data is altered to be unintelligible to unauthorized parties, encryption is the primary technique used, and it sits within cryptography. This process turns readable data (plaintext) into an unreadable form (ciphertext) using an encryption algorithm and a key. The original data can be restored only by reversing the process with decryption, using the appropriate key. The other terms are parts of the process: plaintext is the starting readable form, ciphertext is the scrambled result, and an algorithm is the method used to perform the transformation.