Cryptology Advancing National Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cryptology Advancing National Security - Essay Example This essay discusses that there are also problems of implementation as some encryption programs do not ensure that the plaintext data they acquire is destroyed once it has been encrypted. These are acquired when systems use temporary files to protect in instances of data loss when the system crashes and to increase the available memory. The measures taken leave plaintext exposed and accessible on the hard drive and can easily be manipulated. In other cases, the operating system in computers leaves keys on the hard drive in the form of passwords that are easily broken by the user interface. Schneier states that â€Å"there are times when systems use master keys and also one-time session keys, where one is strong and the other is weak, the system is then broken by using partial information of the different keys†. It is clear that Cryptography plays a very integral role not only in securing sensitive government information. Cryptology is an important advancement in technology. In a day and age where people are very keen on computer programs and able to hack into national security databases, it is now more important. Seeing that there is a weakness in the cryptologic systems, data analysts and cryptologists must ensure that they write programs that are foolproof. In the same way that no one wants a thief having their bank details, we also do not want terrorists having sensitive national security information. Technology serves peoples purposes and it must then be used in the best way possible.