Cryptography Explained: Types, Uses, and Key Differences 🔐

Symmetric Key Cryptography: Uses a single key for both encryption and decryption, making it fast and efficient but requiring secure key distribution.

Asymmetric Key Cryptography: Uses a pair of keys (public and private) for encryption and decryption, enabling secure communication without the need for a secure initial exchange of keys.

Hash Functions: Convert input data into a fixed-size string of bytes, used for data integrity verification and password hashing.

Digital Signatures: Provide authentication and integrity verification for messages or documents, ensuring they originate from a verified sender and haven't been tampered with.

Cryptographic Protocols: Sets of rules governing secure communication over networks, such as TLS/SSL for web security and IPsec for secure IP communications.

Quantum Cryptography: Utilizes principles of quantum mechanics to achieve secure communication, leveraging quantum phenomena to prevent eavesdropping.