Page 71 - Cyber Safety C-8

Encryption

"Apps like WhatsApp and Signal Messenger use end-to-end encryption. This

means even if a hacker intercepts message, they will only see random letters
and numbers—not the actual text".

While privacy settings help control who can see data, they cannot protect information when it
is travelling across the Internet. During this digital journey, information can be intercepted by

hackers or unauthorised users. To keep it safe, a special technique called encryption is used.
Encryption may sound like a difficult technical term, but it simply means turning a message into a
secret code that only the intended receiver can read.

Password! XmFJAch07%a

PLAINTEXT CYPHERTEXT
ENCRYPTION
Let us understand the concept of encryption with an example.

Imagine you want to send the message “HELLO” to your friend and you don’t want anyone else
to understand it. You decide to apply a simple rule: shift each letter forward by 2 places in the
alphabet.

H J

E G
L N

L N

O Q
So, “HELLO” becomes “JGNNQ.”

Your friend, who knows the rule “shift each alphabet by 2,” can easily convert JGNNQ back to
HELLO. To anyone else, JGNNQ looks like meaningless text.

This is the basic idea of encryption—transforming information into a secret code so only the correct
person can understand it.

Decryption is the process of converting encrypted data back into its original, readable form.

Protecting Personal Data & Privacy 69