10.Cryptography: Cryptography Basics

****************************************************** Source: EDX LinuxFoundationX LFS170x Blockchain: Understanding Its Uses and Implications ****************************************************** A- Cryptography and Hashing in Blockchain Blockchain provides users with data integrity in a trustless environment. This is accomplished using cryptography in a way that moves the burden of trust from data processors to cryptographic algorithms. In this section, we will discuss some of the ways cryptography is used in the blockchain. B- Cryptography Key Terms Let's explain the key terms used in cryptography: 1)Secret: The data which we are trying to protect 2)Key: A piece of data used for encrypting and decrypting the secret 3)Function: The process or function used to encrypt the secret 4)Cipher: The encrypted secret data, the output of the function. The Secret and the Key are passed into the Function to create the Cipher. C- What is a cryptographic function? A function for encoding or encrypting data to protect the contents from adversaries. Simple example function: Secret = "Blockchain Training Alliance" Function = Swap each letter in the secret with a new letter according to the Key. Key = "+2". Cipher = "Dnqemejckp Vtckpcpi Cnnkcpeg".