Cryptography

Abstract

So much has been said and so much has been gained; thousands of lives have been lost, and empires have fallen because a secret was not kept. Efforts to keep secrets have been made by humans probably since the beginning of humanity itself. Long ago, humans discovered the essence of secrecy. The art of keeping secrets resulted in victories in wars and in growth of mighty empires. Powerful rulers learned to keep secrets and pass information without interception; that was the beginning of cryptography. Although the basic concepts of cryptography predate the Greeks, the present word cryptography, used to describe the art of secret communication, comes from the Greek meaning “secret writing.” From its rather simple beginnings, cryptography has grown in tandem with technology, and its importance has also similarly grown. Just as in its early days, good cryptographic prowess still wins wars.