Data confidentiality

Confidentiality is the term used to prevent the disclosure of information to unauthorized

individuals or systems. For example, a credit card transaction on the Internet requires
the credit card number to be transmitted from the buyer to the merchant and from the
merchant to a transaction processing network. he system attempts to enforce
confidentiality by encrypting the card number during transmission, by limiting the places
where it might appear !in databases, log files, backups, printed receipts, and so on", and
by restricting access to the places where it is stored. If an unauthorized party obtains the
card number in any way, a breach of confidentiality has occurred.
#ata confidentiality involves the following participants$
Sender. he sender is the originator of a message. % client can send a request
message to a &eb service, and a &eb service can send a response message
back to a client that has sent a request message.
Recipient. he recipient is the entity that receives a message from the sender. %
&eb service is the recipient of a request message that is sent by a client, and a
client is the recipient of a response message that it receives from a &eb service.
'ou can apply data confidentiality in two steps$
1. Encrypting the data. In this step, the sender converts plaintext to ciphertext,
rendering it unintelligible to parties other than the intended recipient.
2. Decrypting the data. In this step, ciphertext is rendered intelligible to the
intended recipient by converting it back to plaintext.
Cryptographer v/s cryptanalysts
Cryptography can be defined as the conversion of data into a scrambled code that can
be deciphered and sent across a public or private network. In a business sense,
cryptography refers to mathematical methods that keep data away from the prying
eyes of hackers or other governments. Cryptographer is the person who does this. i.e
he is the good guy.
Cryptanalysts analyze and decipher secret coding systems and decode messages for
military, political, or law enforcement agencies or organizations. hey help provide
privacy for people and corporations, and keep hackers out of important data systems, as
much as they possibly can. Cryptanalysts seek to secure many of the following
information systems including the Internet, electronic mail and home banking. In the
financial services industry, they deal with electronic cash or Interac, credit card
transactions and instant teller banking !%(s". &ithin the wireless and wired
communications sector, they work with cellular phones, pagers, fax encryptors, modems
and secure telephones.