skip to main content
European Commission Logo
en English
Newsroom

Overview    News

Glossary 13

date:  30/11/2020

Encryption 

Encryption is the process of encoding information with an algorithm from the original form of information, called plaintext. The encrypted message is called ciphertext. Only authorised parties can decipher the ciphertext and convert it back to the original plaintext. 

Decryption 

Decryption is the process of decrypting data that was previously encrypted (made unreadable) back to a readable form.