58 Chapter 3 ■ Cryptography
The pictograms served as a way to illustrate the life story of the deceased of royal and
noble descent. From what we can tell, the language was purposely controlled and designed
to be cryptic, to provide an air of mystery about it, and to inspire a sense of awe. However,
over time the writing system became more complex; eventually the public and those who
could write the language either passed away or turned their interests to other endeavors,
and the ability to decipher the symbols was lost for a time. It wasn’t until the middle of the
eighteenth century that several attempts were made by Europeans to uncover its secrets,
which were perceived to be either mystical or scientific. The symbols, despite the work of
scholars, stubbornly held onto their secrets for many more years.
In 1799, a chance discovery in the sands of Egypt by the French Army uncovered some-
thing that would be instrumental in decoding the language. The Rosetta Stone was the key
that allowed modern civilization to understand a language that was nearly lost, though it
took over 20 years of concerted effort to reveal the language to the world once again.Cryptography and encryption are designed to keep information secret
through careful application of techniques that may or may not be reversed
to reveal the original message.Tracing the Evolution
As with the ancient Egyptians and Romans, who used secret writing methods to obscure
trade or battle information and hunting routes, one of the most widely used applications
of cryptography is in the safeguarding of communications between two parties wanting
to share information. Guaranteeing that information is kept secret is one thing, but in the
modern world it is only part of the equation. In today’s world, information must not only
be kept secret, but provisions to detect unwelcome or unwanted modifications are just as
important. In the days of Julius Caesar and the Spartans, keeping a message secret could
be as simple as writing it in a language the general public didn’t, or wasn’t likely to, under-
stand. Later forms of encryption require that elaborate systems of management and secu-
rity be implemented in order to safeguard information.
Is the body of knowledge relating to cryptography only concerned with protecting infor-
mation? Well, in the first few generations of its existence the answer is yes, but that has
changed. The knowledge is now used in systems to authenticate individuals and to validate
that someone who sent a message or initiated an action is the right party.
Cryptography has even made some of the everyday technologies that you use possible. One
area that owes its existence to cryptography is e-commerce. E-commerce demands the secure
exchange and authentication of financial information. The case could be made that e-commerce
would not exist in anything resembling its current form without the science of cryptography.
Another area that has benefited tremendously from the science of cryptography is mobile
technologies. The careful and thoughtful application of the science has led to a number of
threats such as identity theft being thwarted. Mobile technologies implement cryptographic
measures to prevent someone from duplicating a device and running up thousands in fraud-
ulent charges or eavesdropping on another party.