Research Project Encryption :: Encryption Writing Code Privacy Essays

Research Project EncryptionShould the US government limit the strength of encoding products to eavesdrop on peoples unremarkable life?I remember exchanging secret earns with my friends in Japan as a child. We developed a code in which each letter of the Japanese alphabet was replaced by the one that follows it. For example, if we had used English, Z would develop been replaced by A. Each of us had the key to understanding this code yet outsiders didnt, so we didnt have to worry if one of our brothers intercepted our letters. We loved our secret communications. These letters actually used a simple kind of encryption, not so different from the one Julius Caesar used for the secret messages he sent his Roman generals throughout Europe. He, also, didnt worry if his enemies stole the messages because without the key, they couldnt read them.Today, as well, encryption is used to hide sensitive information. It is used not only by spies but also for common telecommunications, such as fax es and e-mails. Encryption is also pregnant for many everyday uses like Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) for bank account, credit card security and access to controlled areas in buildings. Encryption ensures concealing by keeping things behind a locked door of sorts.But what happens if there is something dangerous, very dangerous behindthat locked door? What if the information that is being kept private and get is a potential threat to the safety of others? What if my friends and I had been plotting to blow up our school or to plan a way to hurt our brothers? Shouldnt our parents have had a way to know what we were conspiring? In other words, how private should private be? This is the question central to a brewing controversy between privacy advocates and the U.S. Federal government. Legal, professional, and ethical issues are being debated as are the limits that can or should be placed on developing encryption technologies. At peril are personal freedoms, the privacy of f inancial and medical records, as well as the fate of entire, nascent industries in the high-tech world.The system of encryptionTo hook on off the examination of this complex topic, lets start with the definition of encryption a process of disguising a message so that only its reliable recipient can understand it. There are two steps to the encryption process, the first of which is also called encryption, and the second which is decryption.