NOTES ON ENCRYPTION
Encryption & Secure Communication (With Real-Life Examples)
🔐 What is Encryption?
Encryption transforms readable data (plaintext) into unreadable
code (ciphertext) so that only authorized parties can understand it.
It's like locking your diary with a digital lock.
• Used in everyday life: WhatsApp chats, email, online
banking, e-commerce websites, and even file storage like
Google Drive or iCloud.
♻️ Types of Encryption:
1. 🔒 Caesar Cipher (Classical Encryption)
• Shifts letters by a fixed number in the alphabet.
• Example: A shift of 3 turns HELLO into KHOOR
• Good for teaching the concept of encryption.
• Not secure — easily broken.
2. ⚖️ Symmetric Encryption
• Uses the same key for both encryption and decryption.
• Fast and efficient.
• Used in: VPNs, database encryption, AES encryption in
local files.
• Real-life example:
o Imagine locking your house with a key.
o You give your brother a copy of the key.
o Now both of you can enter (encrypt/decrypt).
• Weakness:
o If someone steals the key, they can unlock everything.
3. 🏛️ Asymmetric Encryption (Public Key Encryption)
• Uses two keys:
o Public Key: Shared with anyone to encrypt.
o Private Key: Kept secret and used to decrypt.
• Purpose:
o Secure communication over the internet.
o Verifying digital identity (e.g., websites).
• Real-life analogy (PUBG-style):
o You want to send a secret loot location to Helene.
o You use Helene's public key to encrypt the location.
o Only Helene (with her private key) can decrypt it.
o Even if another player intercepts it, it’s gibberish to them.
🎓 Digital Certificates
• Like digital ID cards for websites.
• PUBLIC KEY
• Issued by trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs).
• Prove that a public key belongs to the real website (not a fake
one).
• Used in HTTPS to confirm legitimacy.
• Without a valid certificate, your browser gives you a
warning: "This site may be unsafe!"
🌎 SSL & TLS
• SSL: Secure Sockets Layer (older, 1995)
• TLS: Transport Layer Security (newer, since 1999 — replaces
SSL)
• Role: Provide secure communication over the web.
What happens in HTTPS using TLS?
1. Browser connects to a website.
2. Website sends its digital certificate.
3. Browser verifies it.
4. Browser uses asymmetric encryption to share a symmetric
session key.
5. Both now use the session key for fast, secure communication.
Real-life analogy (wedding style):
• You meet your cousin after a long time at a wedding.
• You check her ID (certificate) to be sure.
• You whisper your secret in a coded language (asymmetric).
• Now you both chat quickly in a private code (symmetric).
⌚ Session Key (Hybrid Encryption)
• A temporary symmetric key created for one session.
• Exchanged using asymmetric encryption.
• Used in TLS/SSL for fast, secure browsing.
• Fast like a one-time password — then thrown away after
the session ends.
⚖️ HTTP vs HTTPS
❌ HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
• Data is sent in plain text.
• No encryption, no privacy.
• Anyone on the network can intercept and read it.
• Sending passwords or credit card info over HTTP is very
risky.
• Analogy: It’s like shouting your personal info across a crowded
room.
✅ HTTPS (HTTP Secure)
• HTTP + SSL/TLS = Encrypted communication.
• Ensures:
o The website is real (verified identity)
o Your data is encrypted in transit
o No one can snoop or tamper with the message
• Used by: Banks, social media, shopping sites, Google, etc.
• Analogy: Like whispering your secrets in a locked soundproof
room.
🏢 Real-World Applications of Encryption
• Emails (e.g., Gmail uses TLS)
• Websites (HTTPS for secure browsing)
• Cloud Storage (Google Drive, Dropbox)
• Messaging Apps (WhatsApp, Signal)
• Online Payments (credit card details, banking apps)
• Military & Government Data Protection
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🍪 Step-by-Step: What Actually Happens When You Visit a
Website Using HTTPS (TLS Handshake)
⚡ Step 1: You (Browser) Say Hello to Server
Your browser types this:
“Hey server! I want to talk to you securely. Here are the encryption
settings I support. Let’s agree on how we’ll talk (TLS version,
ciphers, etc). Also, I’m not trusting just anyone—prove who you
are.”
This message is called a ClientHello.
🧾 Step 2: Server Responds (Digital Certificate Time)
Server replies:
“Hi browser! Nice to meet you. Here’s my digital certificate (signed
by a Certificate Authority). It has:
• My public key
• My identity (domain name, etc.)
• A digital signature from a trusted Certificate Authority (CA)
Use it to verify me and encrypt messages if you trust me.”
This is the ServerHello + Certificate message.
So the public key is not sent later—it's already included inside the
digital certificate.
🔍 Step 3: Browser Verifies Server
Browser does this behind the scenes:
1. Checks that the certificate is signed by a trusted CA.
2. Checks that the domain matches.
3. Checks that the certificate is not expired or revoked.
If all checks are good, the browser says:
“Okay! I trust you. Let’s create a secret together.”
🔐 Step 4: Browser Creates a Pre-Master Secret
Browser:
1. Generates a pre-master secret (a random key).
2. Encrypts it using the server’s public key (from the digital
certificate).
3. Sends the encrypted key to the server.
Only the server can decrypt this using its private key.
🤝 Step 5: Both Now Have a Shared Secret
Browser and server now use that shared secret to generate the
symmetric session key (because symmetric encryption is faster
than asymmetric).
From this point forward, all communication is encrypted using
symmetric encryption.
🧠 So to directly answer your question:
"How can the browser get the public key if the server hasn’t sent
anything yet?"
It gets the public key inside the digital certificate, which the
server sends early, right after the ClientHello, as part of the
ServerHello.
The browser doesn't need to ask for the public key separately. It's
smart—TLS protocol is already designed to handle this.
🎯 In Summary:
Step What Happens What’s Sent
Browser says hi & shares encryption No public key involved
1. ClientHello
preferences yet
2. ServerHello Server sends digital certificate Includes public key
3. Browser
Checks certificate validity
Verifies
4. Key Browser sends encrypted secret using public
Exchange key
5. Secure Talk Now both talk using symmetric encryption
