Understanding Cryptography and what it can do Some information is too sensitive to allow to be broadcast as is. For those situations, we encrypt data into a form that is unreadable without a specific key, and it is this process that we call cryptography. While it has its origins in code to transform written text, cryptography is used now more than ever, mostly in the digital world. If you log into your online banking, send secured emails and so on, you are using cryptography, turning plaint text into unreadable text via encryption, then decrypting back to readable text at the other end. Cryptography has two main forms, each has its benefits, and both are used frequently today, these are: Symmetric Key Cryptography: This process both encrypts the information and then decrypts it using the same key. This is the basic form of cryptography that has been used for thousands of years, such as the Caesar Cypher, which encrypts by shifting letters in the alphabet a number of steps, and decrypts by shifting them back the same amount. Asymmetric Key Cryptography: Here there are two different keys, a public key used to encrypt information, and then a second, private key, used to decrypt it. This type of cryptography is widely used today in SSL certificates and digital signatures. Where is cryptography used? Cryptography has become an integral part of our digital lives, and is found in so many things we do almost daily, here are a few examples: Online Banking — Keeps your financial information safe and secure Website Security — SSL keeps data sent between the website and user fully secure at all times Email Encryption — Keeps contents of emails secure so even if intercepted, it could not be read by anyone else. Online Shopping — Online transactions use cryptography to prevent financial information being intercepted as it is sent from user to the online shopping system. Data protection on your devices — Losing your phone is bad enough, but worse still if someone could read all the data. With cryptography, data on your devices is secure. Government Communications — From tax returns to official ID documents, digital communications between you and government entities is kept secure to protect you. Using cryptography with vehicle data One area where cryptography is making inroads is the automotive industry. As the use of telematics has grown, the need for confidentiality within systems has been a constant concern. Vehicle data includes vehicle location and tracking, diagnostics and driver behavior, which is broadcast to manufacturers, fleet managers and other connected service providers. That data, if intercepted, could allow criminal behavior or be used in other ways, which is why cryptography has been widely adopted to secure such communications. In fact, such is the need for security on these critical data, this application uses cryptography in three different ways within the system. These are: Data Encryption — All data sent from each vehicle is encrypted, so that if it is intercepted by a third party, no information can be read. Authentication — Cryptographic systems are used to authenticate the sender and receiver of the data. This prevents malicious entities from corrupting the system by pretending to be official data sources or recipients. Integrity Checks — All data sent is checked for integrity to make sure it has not been tampered with during transmission, so that users can be sure the information is accurate and trusted. While right now, these systems are important, and the integrity of all data is crucial for accurate analysis, in the future these systems will become increasingly essential. As vehicles more towards autonomous driving, having accurate and reliable data becomes a mater of life or death to the safe operation of these vehicles, and as such, cryptography will be at the heart of the transport revolution. See how to install a telematics device. Conclusion Cryptography then, is the key to unlocking the digital world. Constantly evolving to combat new and increased threats posed by criminal entities of all kinds, cryptography keeps our data, whatever it may be, safe. From emails to bank accounts, credit card numbers to vehicle locations, cryptography keeps this important information safe and secure, allowing us to have remote access to these key services without worry.
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