Text 8A5AAA

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.

As we get dragged more and more into the new information society, faceless digital communication regimes are guaranteeing neither information and personal security nor personal privacy. The technological and communications revolution has further resulted in massive global surveillance of millions of individuals by either their governments or private companies; the fight for personal privacy has never been any fiercer, and the integrity and confidentiality of data have become more urgent than ever before. The security and trust of digital transaction systems have become of critical importance as more and more organizations and businesses join the e-commerce train. The very future of global commerce is at stake in this new information society unless the security of e-commerce can be guaranteed.

Cryptography is being increasingly used to fight off this massive invasion of individual privacy and security, to guarantee data integrity and confidentiality, and to bring trust in global e-commerce. Cryptography has become the main tool for providing the needed digital security in the modern digital communication medium that far exceeds the kind of security that was offered by any medium before it.

Joseph Migga Kiza. Cryptography. In: Computer network security. Chattanooga: Springer, 2005, p. 257-8 (adapted.

It can be said from text 8A5AAA that cryptography and technology have