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Difference between Cryptography and Cyber Security

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In today’s world, where technology has become an integral part of our lives, ensuring the security of our digital data has become more important than ever. Cryptography and Cyber Security are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings and purposes. In this article, we will explore the differences between these two concepts.

Cyber Security as the name suggests, is a process or measures taken by organizations or experts to protect devices, computer networks, or data from malicious activities.  It is considered as one of the remedies to alleviate cyber crime. In simple words, it refers to keeping data secure. It also maintains safe and stable business operations even in face of cyber threats.  

Cryptography as the name suggests, is a process that is mainly used to encrypt and decrypt data or messages that cannot be deciphered by unauthorized access. It deploys the use of scrambled or distorted symbols. It is simply used to provide extra security to ensure that only authorized users can understand the message. In simple words, it refers to the method used to protect sensitive information.  

Similarities:

  • Focus on Data Protection: Both Cryptography and Cyber Security are focused on protecting data from unauthorized access or manipulation. While Cryptography deals with techniques to secure data through encryption, Cyber Security is concerned with implementing measures to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data.
  • Use of Encryption: Encryption is a common technique used in both Cryptography and Cyber Security to protect sensitive data from prying eyes. Cryptography uses encryption algorithms to transform plaintext into ciphertext, making it unreadable without the key. Similarly, Cyber Security uses encryption to secure data in transit or at rest, ensuring that only authorized parties have access to it.
  • Dependence on Key Management: Both Cryptography and Cyber Security rely on effective key management to ensure the security of the data. In Cryptography, the key is used to encrypt and decrypt data, while in Cyber Security, the key is used to authenticate users and devices and ensure the integrity of the data.
  • Need for Continuous Improvement: Both Cryptography and Cyber Security are fields that are constantly evolving. Attackers are always developing new ways to bypass security measures, so it is essential to continuously update and improve security protocols to stay ahead of the game.

Difference between Cybersecurity and Cryptography :

Cyber Security 

Cryptography  

It is a process of keeping networks, devices, programs, data secret and safe from damage or unauthorized access.   It is a process of keeping information secret and safe simply by converting it into unintelligible information and vice-versa.  
It is all about managing cyber risks in all aspects such as people, process, technology, etc. It is all about math functions and can be applied in technical solutions for increasing cybersecurity.  
Its main objective is to prevent or mitigate harm or destruction of computer networks, applications, devices, and data. Its main objective is to keep plain text secret from eavesdroppers who are trying to have access to some information about the plain text. 
It is generally used for the protection of internet-connected systems like software, hardware, and data, risk management, disaster planning, access control, policies.    It is generally used for integrity, entity authentication, data origin authentication, non-repudiation, etc.  
It protects the system against viruses, worms, unwanted programs, etc., protects the computer from being hacked, reduces computer freezing and crashes, provides privacy to users, etc.  It protects authentication and data across devices, maintains integrity, provides privacy to its best, allows two parties to communicate securely, etc.  
It makes cryptography one of its subsets and uses it to design algorithms, ciphers, and security measures that usually codify and keep company and customer data protected.  It is an automated mathematical tool that is used to enhance and improve cybersecurity. 
It generally involves the implementation of specific procedures to keep data safe.   It generally mitigates or reduces cyber-crime simply by using elaborate design to encrypt messages. 

Conclusion:
In summary, Cryptography and Cyber Security are both critical components of ensuring the security of digital data, but they have different focuses and purposes. While Cryptography is a technique used to secure data by converting it into an unreadable format, Cyber Security is a practice used to protect digital devices, networks, and sensitive information from various cyber threats. Understanding the difference between these two concepts is essential for developing an effective security strategy in today’s digital age.


Last Updated : 14 Mar, 2023
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