8.1 Introduction

Without encryption, it is easy for anyone with access to a computer between you and the receiver to view transmitted data while it is in transit. In fact, this book includes a chapter that describes how to monitor network traffic at the packet level. This network traffic could include confidential or privileged information that you transmit from your computer.

Security is paramount in financial transactions and many other types of information exchange with an associated dollar value. It is vitall that privileged information remain in the hands of its rightful owners and not stray into the hands of hackers, or worse, the public domain.

This chapter is divided into three sections. The first section describes how encrypted data is cracked and how to recognize weak encryption, which effectively makes your data less secure than plain text. The second section describes asymmetric encryption, which is most applicable for securing data in transit. The chapter concludes with a discussion on symmetric encryption, which is ideal for use in conjunction with other types of encryption for added performance and security.

8.2 Cryptanalysis

In order to appreciate fully what cryptography is, it is necessary to understand the difference between good and bad encryption. When encryption techniques are used incorrectly, they are worse than having no encryption at all because system users will mistakenly trust the encryption, when it is not secure at all. This section should plainly demonstrate how to recognize weak encryption and how simply it can be broken.

Any encryption...