English

Noun

cryptography ‎(usually uncountable, plural cryptographies)

1. The discipline concerned with communication security (eg, confidentiality of messages, integrity of messages, sender authentication, non-repudiation of messages, and many other related issues), regardless of the used medium such as pencil and paper or computers.
   • 1658:, Sir Thomas Browne (first use in English),

     We might abate...the strange cryptography of Gaffarell in his Starrie Booke of Heaven.

Usage notes

• Subfields include encoding, decoding, cryptanalysis, codes, ciphers, etc.
• In many languages, though less so in English, cognates to "cryptology" are also used with the meaning given above, and even preferred.
• Related to cryptography but distinct, steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no-one apart from the sender and intended recipient even realizes there is a hidden message.

Derived terms

• anticryptography
• asymmetric cryptography
• public-key cryptography

Related terms

• crypt
• cryptology
• cryptanalysis

Translations

See also

• Appendix:Glossary of cryptography