Cisco IOS Cryptosystem Components

Encryption

The process of translating data into a secret code, which can only be read or processed after being decrypted using a secret key or password. Encryption typically involves using a mathematical algorithm for combining the original data, referred to as plaintext or Cleartext, with one or more keys�"character strings of numbers and/or text known only to the sender and the recipient. The resulting output is ciphertext. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security.

Cryptography

The science or study of encryption and decryption techniques. A system for encrypting and decrypting data is called a cryptosystem. While it’s technically possible for encrypted data to be deciphered using cryptanalysis, or code-breaking techniques, most modern cryptography techniques are virtually unbreakable.