FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTER

Detailed explanation-1: -In cryptography, an encryption key is a variable value that is applied using an algorithm to a string or block of unencrypted text to produce encrypted text or to decrypt encrypted text. The length of the key is a factor in considering how difficult it will be to decrypt the text in a given message.

Detailed explanation-2: -Encryption keys are strings of information (bits) that are used by cryptographic algorithms to encode (encrypt) and decode (decrypt) data. Encrypted data is unreadable without proper decoding, thus making it highly secure and difficult for hackers to compromise.

Detailed explanation-3: -The science of encrypting and decrypting information is called cryptography. In computing, unencrypted data is also known as plaintext, and encrypted data is called ciphertext. The formulas used to encode and decode messages are called encryption algorithms, or ciphers.

Detailed explanation-4: -Symmetric, or secret key encryption, uses a single key for both encryption and decryption. Symmetric key encryption is used for encrypting large amounts of data efficiently. 256-bit AES keys are symmetric keys. Asymmetric, or public/private encryption, uses a pair of keys.

Detailed explanation-5: -A symmetric key is used during both the encryption and decryption processes. To decrypt a particular piece of ciphertext, the key that was used to encrypt the data must be used. The goal of every encryption algorithm is to make it as difficult as possible to decrypt the generated ciphertext without using the key.