Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Security Handbook

Chapter 8. Cryptography

In this chapter

History of Cryptography

Keys and Key Length

Types of Encryption

Common Encryption Algorithms

Applications that Use Encryption

Future of Cryptography

In Part I, "Windows 2000 System Basics," you were introduced to basics of the Windows NT 2000 operating system. You learned all about the system architecture, the file system, drivers, and so on. In this chapter, you will be introduced to one of the building blocks of information security today. Cryptography can be defined as the science of protecting information by encoding (encrypting) the data in an unreadable format. The science of encrypting data is at the foundation of all information security available today. If you work with a computer and the Internet, ...