The Role of Cryptography in Software Security

Cryptography is a mathematical science and an engineering discipline devoted to private communications in non-private settings. Cryptography comes from the Greek word kryptos, meaning anything hidden, obscured, veiled, secret, or mysterious. While the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines cryptography as the process of writing or reading secret messages or codes, in information security, cryptography has more applications than simply “writing and reading secret messages.” Crypto is critically important in software applications but can also be intimidating… and easily misapplied.