What is cryptography?

Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties, also known as adversaries. It involves creating and analyzing protocols that prevent third parties or the public from reading private messages. Through encryption, decryption, and various cryptographic techniques, cryptography ensures confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data. It's essential for securing sensitive information in various fields like finance, military, and communication technologies. Cryptography utilizes mathematical algorithms to scramble data into unreadable formats (encryption) and decipher it back to its original form (decryption) using keys. This ensures that even if intercepted, the message remains confidential.