What Is Cipher?

What Is Cipher?

Cipher Definition

Short definition: A secret way of writing a message. Encoding.

Extended definition:

In cybersecurity, a cipher is often related to encryption and more specifically encryption of messages that were sent between two parties, like in chat or encryption of files in order to lock them so that no one else has access to the files. The cipher itself is the language that is used to encrypt the files.

There are different types of encryption “ciphertexts” out there, like the AES and RSA algorithms that are used typically by many government agencies to hide important files or also employed by ransom ware infections in order to extort you into paying money to receive a decryption key that will avert the ciphering process.

Depending on the strength and complexity of each cipher for being used, it is more or less difficult to decipher a given message or a file. Some ciphers are so complex that it takes a super computer years to break the algorithm used. Some ciphers are less complex and it makes it easier for malware researchers to discover how to crack them.

For more definitions, check our Cyber Dictionary.