By: Nik Korba

The internet has radically reshaped the way we communicate. Sending a message to anywhere in the world, which once took days or even weeks to accomplish, now takes seconds. And speed is not the only advantage. Today’s digital communication platforms also offer greater efficiency, affordability, and sustainability than the methods used in the past.

However, there are also disadvantages. Digital messages face a much higher risk of being intercepted than those sent through conventional channels. Every message sent electronically — from bank transfers to lunch orders and everything in between — faces the risk of being captured by bad actors and used for illicit purposes. To address this risk and keep electronic communications secure, platforms employ a tool known as cryptography.

“Those unfamiliar with the concept of cryptography typically envision an extremely complex and technological process, employing almost incomprehensible mathematical calculations to make life online safer,” says Marcelo Barros, Global Markets Leader of Hacker Rangers. “Few people know that this craft is much older than cybersecurity. Cryptography was created long before computing, with initial use by the Egyptians dating back to 1900 BC.”

Marcelo Barros, Global Markets Leader at Hacker Rangers, shares his expertise in cryptography and cybersecurity. He has assisted clients with developing and deploying solutions to secure online communications.

Hacker Rangers is a unique training platform that enhances cybersecurity programs by improving an organization’s ability to identify and repel cyber attacks. By leveraging the power of gamification to make cyber awareness fun and engaging for organizations, Hacker Rangers ensures employees stay up-to-date on the latest cybersecurity threats and the most effective ways to neutralize them.

“Simply stated, cryptography is the art of making information being transferred digitally unreadable to third parties,” Barros explains. “Cryptography accomplishes this by ‘scrambling’ messages so outsiders can’t interpret that text. With the advent of personal and professional computing, this age-old technique has been updated and deployed to counter cyber threats and protect online information. It’s ubiquitous in the digital world, protecting communications and keeping them secure.”

Early examples of cryptography

While the use of cryptography goes back 4,000 years, with Egyptian scribes using it in the tombs of their pharaohs, ancient Rome provides one of the best-known examples of early cryptography. The Caesar cipher, named after Emperor Julius Caesar, is a cryptographic model used to hide the meaning of messaging by substituting one character for another.

“The Caesar cipher is quite simple and archaic compared to today’s cryptography,” Barros says. “It encrypts messages by shifting letters up or down the alphabet using consistent steps. When encrypting a text with three ‘shifts’ forward, the word ‘hello’ would become ‘khoor,’ for example. The person receiving the message would know how many steps were used, allowing them to shift the message back and interpret its content.”

Historians report that Caesar used cryptography primarily for military messages. His goal was to keep his troops’ plans secret even when his couriers were intercepted, and the practice eventually became standard military practice.

“For centuries, protecting military communications was the sole use for cryptography,” Barros says. “The Turing Machine is a classic example of military cryptography. Created by British citizen Alan Turing during World War II, it was used to decipher encrypted communications sent by German troops. The capability provided by the Turing Machine played a critical role in the defeat of Nazi Germany.”

From coded messages to coded currency

Without cryptography, today’s digital communications would be minimal. Cryptography creates the security needed to support the transmission of personal and sensitive information. Whenever a password is entered on a website, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) leverages a Transport Layer Security or Secure Sockets Layer (TLS/SSL) certificate to create a secure transportation tunnel. The protocol encrypts communication between the user’s device and the final server during transmission.

The ongoing need for advanced cryptographic protection

Advances in technology have made cryptography more critical. As the reach of online networks has spread considerably in recent years through innovations like the Internet of Things, more messaging must be protected.

Yet advanced processing power gives cyber attackers greater capabilities for breaking encryption and gaining access to secure information. Ensuring safety in the online world now requires building multiple levels of protection that understand and address emerging threats.

“The encryption built into the hardware and software that we commonly use is strengthened when we combine it with advanced encryption methods,” Barros says. “Virtual private networks (VPNs) are a good example of this approach, adding an extra layer of protection to your data traffic by masking your IP address and making you anonymous on the web.”

Today’s world depends on digital communications, making effective encryption an ongoing need. Meeting that need requires ongoing innovation in cryptography to develop methods and technologies that keep sensitive data secret and safe.

Published by: Martin De Juan