Encryption is the process of encoding the data in such a way that it can be read only by the authorized users. The purpose of encryption is to prevent third parties from recovering the original data.
In an encryption process, the data (referred to as plaintext) is encrypted using an encryption algorithm, turning it into an unreadable ciphertext. This is usually done with the use of an encryption key, which specifies how the data is to be encoded. Any adversary may be able to see the ciphertext but should not be able to decode the original data. An An authorized party, however, is able to decode the ciphertext using a decryption algorithm which usually requires a secret decryption key. The adversaries do not have access to this key. An encryption process usually needs a key-generation algorithm to randomly produce keys.
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