Table of contents
1.
Introduction 
2.
Privacy
3.
Encryption And Decryption
3.1.
Encryption
3.2.
Decryption
3.3.
The Need For Encryption/Decryption
3.4.
Keys
4.
Classification of Encryption and Decryption Techniques
4.1.
Privacy with secret key Encryption/Decryption
4.2.
Privacy with public key Encryption/Decryption
5.
Frequently Asked Questions
5.1.
What is the Data Encryption Standard?
5.2.
Name different kinds of secret and public key algorithms?
5.3.
What is the purpose of the secret key?
5.4.
What is the purpose of the public key?
6.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

Privacy in Computer Networks

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Computer Networks

Introduction 

When we hear the word privacy, the first thing that comes to our mind is private. Whatever data, message, or information we share must be between two or the selected parties. We can also see it as a security. In this article, we will discuss an overview of privacy.

In this article, we will discuss an overview of Privacy which protects us as individuals and businesses from entities on which we rely or that are more powerful than us. It refers to the right or use of personal information in terms of its storage, purpose, disclosure to third parties, and display to others via networks. It is a subset of data privacy.

Also See, Basic Networking Commands

Privacy

The ability of an individual or group to remote themselves or information about themselves and thus express themselves selectively is referred to as Privacy.

For a long time, the concept of attaining privacy has remained unchanged: the message cannot be encrypted. All unauthorized parties must be kept in the dark about the message. To some extent, privacy is attained through a good encryption/decryption technique. This technique ensures that the message's contents are mysterious to the intruder.

 

Privacy

Source: link

Encryption And Decryption

Encryption

Encryption is a process that converts the original data into a disguised format. This new version of the message is entirely different from the original because the senders use an encryption algorithm so that the hacker cannot read the data. Encryption is typically mastered by using key algorithms. The sender does this.

Decryption

Decryption is the inverse process of encryption. In this process, the encrypted data/disguised data is being converted into its original form, or you can say in a readable format. This method requires manually decrypting the data or, with the help of the keys used to encrypt the original data. The receiver does it.

The data that will be encrypted (original data) at the sender side is referred to as plaintext, and the encrypted data is referred to as ciphertext. At the receiver side, the data is decrypted.

 

Encryption and Decryption

Source: link

The Need For Encryption/Decryption

  • It secures our important data such as bank id, password, login id, documents and many more.
  • It gives security to our data.
  • It assures us that our documents are not changed.
  • It also helps to save us from piracy and protect our IP.

 

Before discussing the different encryption techniques, we should get familiar with what is meant by a “Key” and their types in cryptography.

Keys

A 'key' in cryptography is a piece of information that is used in combination with an algorithm (a 'cipher') to convert plaintext to ciphertext (encryption) and vice versa (decryption).

Types of Keys:

  1. Symmetric Key
    Symmetric-key encryption algorithms use the same cryptographic keys for both original and encrypted data.
  2. Asymmetric Key
    Asymmetric encryption utilizes two key pairs for encryption. The public key is accessible to anyone, whereas the secret key is only accessible to the message's recipient. It makes sure boot security.
  3. Public Key
    Public key cryptography is a type of encryption that employs two pairs of keys. These are used to encrypt data for a receiver.
  4. Private Key
    A private key can be part of a public or private asymmetric key pair. It can be used in asymmetric encryption due to the usage of the same key to encrypt and decrypt data.
  5. Preshared Key
    A pre-shared key (PSK) is a shared secret shared beforehand between the two parties by a secure channel before it is used in cryptography.                          

Classification of Encryption and Decryption Techniques

Encryption/Decryption techniques are classified into two groups:

  • Privacy with secret key Encryption/Decryption technique
  • Privacy with public key Encryption/Decryption technique

 

Privacy with secret key Encryption/Decryption

 

Privacy with secret key Encryption/Decryption

                                                                            Source: link

 

The same key is used in both cases, Encryption or Decryption, by both sides, sender and receiver. The sender uses the same key to encrypt the data, and the receiver uses the same key to decrypt the data. It is also known as a symmetric encryption algorithm as it uses the same secret key on both sides for communication.

We need to know which computers are interacting with each other to install the key on each computer.

Advantages:

  1. These are more efficient because they encrypt the data significantly in less time than a public key encryption algorithm.
  2. The key is very small in size. 
  3. These keys are mainly used for encryption and decryption.
     

Disadvantages:

  1. Each pair of parties must share the key.
  2. The sharing of keys among different parties can be difficult.

 

Privacy with public key Encryption/Decryption

 

Privacy with Public Key Encryption/Decryption

Source: link

 

There are two keys in public-key encryption: A Public key and a Private key.

The private key is provided to the receiver, while the public key is provided to the public. The most widely used public-key algorithm is RSA(Rivest–Shamir–Adleman).

Advantages:

  1. Each user generates two keys in public-key encryption- one private and one public. It keeps the private key while sharing the public key.
  2. The number of keys is reduced drastically.
     

Disadvantages:

  1. Speed is slower than the secret key algorithm.
  2. It doesn't have build-in authentication.
  3. The main disadvantage is its complexity.                                                                       

You can also read about the Layered Architecture in Computer Network, Subnetting in Computer Networks

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Data Encryption Standard?

The Data Encryption Standard is an encryption standard that is a kind of Secret Key Cryptography. IBM developed the Data Encryption Standard (DES), which is adopted by the US government as the standard encryption method for nonmilitary and non classified use.

Name different kinds of secret and public key algorithms?

The Secret key algorithms are DES, 3DES, AES & RCA and the Public key algorithms are Diffie-Hellman and RSA.

What is the purpose of the secret key?

The primary purpose is to share the bulk data with high security as the sender and receiver use the same key.

What is the purpose of the public key?

The primary purpose is to share the keys properly.

Conclusion

This article discussed privacy which is the ability of an individual or group to remote themselves or information about themselves and thus express themselves selectively, encryption, decryption, types of keys, classification of encryption and decryption techniques with advantages and disadvantages in computer networks.

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