data encryption: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 14, 2026

Facts

Also Known As	encryption • encipherment

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Topics

cipher decryption code cryptographic key Data Encryption Standard public-key cryptography Navajo Code Talkers Infographic transposition cipher Morse Code substitution cipher data mining data compression data processing information theory Misinformation and disinformation sources database metadata big data data protection

Key People

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Ronald L. Rivest

American computer scientist

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Michael Oser Rabin

Israeli American mathematician

Adleman, Leonard M.

Leonard M. Adleman

American computer scientist

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Adi Shamir

Israeli cryptographer

A botanical illustration from the Voynich manuscript, a codex, scientific or magical text in an unidentified language, in cipher; end of the 15th or during the 16th century (?).

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