Security Beginner

What is Encryption?

The process of converting readable data into an unreadable format using algorithms, reversible only with the correct key.

Encryption protects data confidentiality. Symmetric encryption (AES, ChaCha20) uses one key for both encryption and decryption — fast but requires secure key exchange. Asymmetric encryption (RSA, ECC) uses a public/private key pair — slower but enables secure key exchange.

Data should be encrypted at rest (stored data) and in transit (network traffic via TLS). Never implement custom encryption — use established libraries and algorithms.

Related Terms

Penetration Testing

An authorized simulated cyberattack on a system to evaluate its security defenses and identify vulnerabilities.

Webhook Signature Verification

A security mechanism that verifies webhook payloads are authentic and unmodified using cryptographic signatures.

SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)

A platform that collects, correlates, and analyzes security events from across an organization to detect threats and incidents.

JWT (JSON Web Token)

A compact, self-contained token format used for securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object.

A one-way function that converts input data into a fixed-size string of characters, used for data integrity and password storage.

Practices and mechanisms for protecting APIs from unauthorized access, data breaches, and abuse.

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