Encryption

When information is sent via the Internet, it passes through numerous other computers before it reaches its destination. These intermediary computers do not usually monitor what is passing through them. There is, however, a chance that your Internet transaction is being monitored and your information can be retrieved - including credit card information. Encryption is used to protect the information so that even if it is monitored, it would be unintelligible to a third party. In effect, encryption transforms or scrambles information into some unreadable form that can only be read by someone who has the key. The process by which this scrambling is done is too complicated to explain here. Encryption programs are usually described by the number of bits used in the key. The important thing to remember is that the higher the number of bits, the more difficult the system will be to break.

LINKS

For international policies regarding cryptography click here.