Cryptographic methods of information protection are special methods of encryption, coding or other transformation of information, as a result of which its content becomes inaccessible without providing a cryptogram key and reverse transformation. The cryptographic method of protection is undoubtedly the most reliable method of protection, because the information itself is protected, but not access to it (for example, an encrypted file cannot be read, even if the carrier is stolen). This method of protection is implemented in the form of programs or software packages.
For a long time, cryptography was the province of lonely geeks. Among them were talented scientists, diplomats and clergymen. There are cases when cryptography was even considered to be black magic. This period of development of cryptography as an art lasted from time immemorial until the beginning of the twentieth century, when the first encryption machines appeared. The understanding of the mathematical nature of problems solved by cryptography came only in the middle of the 20th century after the works of the outstanding American scientist C. Shannon.
Some information about the properties of ciphers and their application can be found in fiction, especially in adventure, detective and military literature.
Modern cryptography includes four main sections:
Symmetric Cryptosystems. In symmetric cryptosystems, both encryption and decryption use the same key.
Public-key cryptosystems. Public key systems use two keys, a public key and a private key, which are mathematically related. Information is encrypted using the public key, accessible to everyone, and decrypted using the private key, known only to the recipient of the message.
Electronic Signature. An electronic signature system is a cryptographic transformation attached to a text that allows, when the text is received by another user, to verify the authorship and authenticity of the message.
Key management. It is a process of the information processing system, the content of which is the compilation and distribution of keys among users.
The main uses of cryptographic methods are the transfer of confidential information over communication channels (e.g. e-mail), authentication of transmitted messages, storage of information (documents, databases) on carriers in an encrypted form.
The process of cryptographic data closure can be implemented either software or hardware. Hardware implementation is much more expensive, but it has advantages: high performance, simplicity, security, etc. The software implementation is more practical and allows some flexibility in use.
Cryptographic methods of information protection have been known since ancient times and are the most reliable, because the information itself is protected, not the access to it. Today there are two possible implementations of cryptographic information closure – software and hardware.
Information security is a complex task aimed at ensuring security, which is realized by implementing a security system. The problem of information protection is multifaceted and complex and covers a number of important tasks. Problems of information security are constantly aggravated by the penetration of technical means of data processing and transmission in all areas of society and, above all, in computer systems.
Security features cannot be developed, acquired, or installed until the appropriate analysis is done.
The abstract analyzes the main methods of information protection – physical protection, legislative protection, access control (software protection), cryptographic closure of information. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.