Cryptology

Cryptology is the science of disguising meaning by using codes or ciphers. The term comes from the Greek words kryptos (hidden) and logos (word). Cryptology provides the perfect means to keep your private information safe when it's being sent over the Internet (a public channel). When you “encrypt” a message or document, you make it unreadable to anybody who doesn't have the tools to decipher it.

Ciphers are the tools used for encryption. Cryptology studies how to create ciphers, how to decrypt messages without having a key, and how to make ciphers more secure. For more information, see the encyclopedia entry on Encryption.