Ciphers transform plaintext into ciphertext using keys to prevent unauthorized access.
Types of ciphers
- Symmetric: Same key for encryption/decryption (AES, DES, 3DES).
- Asymmetric: Public key encrypts, private key decrypts (RSA, ECC).
- Stream: Encrypt data bit-by-bit or byte-by-byte (RC4, ChaCha20).
- Block: Encrypt fixed-size blocks (AES, Blowfish).
Modern algorithms
- AES-256: Current standard for symmetric encryption.
- RSA-2048/4096: Widely used for asymmetric encryption.
- ChaCha20-Poly1305: Fast stream cipher with authentication.
- ECC: Efficient public-key cryptography.
Deprecated/insecure
- DES: 56-bit key, crackable.
- MD5, SHA-1: Collision attacks possible.
- RC4: Biases in output stream.
- ROT13, XOR (simple): Not cryptographically secure.
Key concepts
- Key length: Longer keys = stronger encryption.
- Mode of operation: CBC, GCM, CTR (for block ciphers).
- Initialization vector (IV): Randomizes encryption.
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