Which term describes the practice of securing communications by transforming plain data into ciphertext?

• A. Cryptology
• B. Encryption
• C. Cipher
• D. Kerckhoffs's Principle

Answer: (B)

Transforming plain data into ciphertext to secure communications is encryption. It’s the process of applying an algorithm and a key to readable information so it becomes unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the key. This protects confidentiality by ensuring that intercepted data cannot be understood without the proper decryption key. The other terms describe related ideas but not the act itself: cryptology is the overall study of securing and breaking codes; a cipher is the specific method or algorithm used to perform encryption; Kerckhoffs’s Principle is a design guideline about keeping systems secure even when the algorithm is public. In short, encryption is the act of turning plaintext into ciphertext to protect information.