Ciphertext facts for kids

The Zimmermann Telegram (as it was sent from Washington to Mexico) encrypted as ciphertext.

In cryptography, ciphertext or cyphertext is the result of encryption performed on plaintext using an algorithm, called a cipher. Ciphertext is also known as encrypted or encoded information because it contains a form of the original plaintext that is unreadable by a human or computer without the proper cipher. This makes it unreadable to anyone except those who own unique information about it, usually referred to as a key.

Decryption, the inverse of encryption, is the process of turning ciphertext into readable plaintext. Decryption is the reverse process of encryption. It takes the unreadable ciphertext as an input and makes it readable again in the form of plaintext.

Images for kids

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  KGB ciphertext found in a hollow nickel in Brooklyn in 1953

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  The Zimmermann Telegram decrypted into plaintext (and translated into English).

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  The Shu borough inscription, England