Key (cryptography)

From Wiki @ Karl Jones dot com
Revision as of 08:04, 17 August 2015 by Karl Jones (Talk | contribs) (First)

(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search

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.

See also

External links