Cybersecurity Fundamentals 07

Locking Data & Unlocking Careers

Part 7 : Cryptography — The Science That Keeps Secrets Safe

What makes WhatsApp chats private? Or keeps your online banking secure?
It’s not luck. It’s cryptography — the art and science of hiding information.

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🔍 What is Cryptography?

Cryptography transforms readable data (plaintext) into unreadable form (ciphertext) using algorithms and keys — and only those with the right key can decode it.

"Tumhara message agar beech me koi intercept kare, toh wo sirf encrypted garbage dekhe — asli baat sirf receiver hi padhega."

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2. Core Types:

🔹 Symmetric Encryption
Same key is used for encryption and decryption.

Ex: AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)

🔹 Asymmetric Encryption
Uses two keys — public and private.

Ex: RSA (Used in secure websites: https://)

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Real-Life Uses:

• Banking transactions

• Online shopping

• Secure emails (PGP)

• VPNs

• Bitcoin and Blockchain

Fun Fact: End-to-end encrypted apps (like Signal, WhatsApp) use asymmetric cryptography under the hood.

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🛡️Why You Need It as a Cybersecurity Pro:

Whether you become a SOC Analyst, Pen Tester, or Forensics Expert, you’ll need to:

• Understand cryptographic algorithms

• Analyze encrypted threats or payloads

• Validate secure communications

Tools to explore:

• Wireshark (see encrypted packets)

• OpenSSL (play with encryption)

• CyberChef (visual crypto tool)